CASUALTIES 2: Of Chameleons and Wolves
by HextheDaydreamer
Summary: Theresa Amhel. Thalia James. Fenris. After Cobra's defeat two years ago, Fenris is living a somewhat normal life as Snake Eyes's apprentice. Scarlet's getting married, Jinx is clan heir, someone's killing former G. I. Joes...A group called VIPER has a bone to pick, and Fenris has that bone. Rated M for torture, mildly sexual themes. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**CASUALTIES 2: Of Wolves and Chameleons**

 **CHAPTER ONE: Viper**

Zanya sat on the marine's chest with a bored look on her face, shoving her gun down the man's throat. He gagged, bile rode over his lips as he stared wide-eyed up at her, frantically twitching the ropes binding his arms down to the wooden arms of the overturned chair he was trapped in. Her feet were on either side of his head, fixing his gaze on her cool green eyes, even her dreads were tinged with green. In any other situation, the marine would've found her gorgeous but he'd heard the other two mentioning the fact that she was seventeen, seventeen and hell bent on _something_.

He hadn't even seen her coming, he'd been surfing in the dark, cruising over the dark waves like a shark in the darkness. It was in stark contrast to that time in that tiny little sub, bumping shoulders with traitors and watching his superiors dump their bodies in the ocean. Hadn't they had families? They were misguided to follow Cobra, yes, but they were still people, still people _with_ people waiting for them.

He swallowed awkwardly around the barrel of the gun, thinking of his young family at home who were probably wondering what had happened to him. What _will_ happen to him; he knows how this ends. He's seen their faces, heard their voices, maybe even picked up on something he shouldn't have. They have to kill him, they will, it's only a matter of time.

"Listen, mate," she drawls thickly, lifting the gun up an inch. "I don't want trouble, not yet anyway. Was wondering if you could maybe get in touch with some of your friends for me."

"Didn't keep in contact, ma'am."

S _he laughs._ Oh God, and its music for all of five seconds until she shoves the gun as far down as she can, leaning over him with a sick look of fascination. Not smiling, but her eyes zero in on the sweat beading down his brow, how wide his eyes are, how small his pupils are. She slowly moves the gun up and down, rhythmically, sensually, and he groans despite himself.

Her lips twitch.

"You a father, _sir_?" she parrots back at him, mimicking the baritone tremor in his voice. "I had a father once," she continued normally, pulling the gun out and letting his gasp for breath.

She waits for him to catch his breath, repeats the question, and then he nods obediently. Zanya smiles this time, he doesn't know her name and he never will but for a little while, she pretends they've known each other for years. She dips the gun back into his mouth, surprised as he allows the action, almost welcomes it, and she gently flutters it up and down his throat.

She lets this go on for a while, tipping her head back and gazing through the space between the door and wall; white lights spills out from the TV, illuminating the shadows of her aunt and uncle lounging on the couch. They looked nothing like their older brother, and look too much like each other. She doesn't count them as especially smart, not by a longshot, but she needs them for this to work. Well, maybe not Aunt Zarana who flaunts her newly dyed pink hair as if she served Cobra the head of every G I Joe in hiding. Zanya does not like Zarana and Zarana does not like Zanya, but the girl does not care. As long as they all have the same enemy, they need each other. That and Zarana, for all her faults, is a master of disguise and small arms. Zanya does not like changing her appearance so much, constant dyeing ruins and thins hair, and Zanya is damn proud of her dreads – Father loved them so.

Speaking of which, from her seat on the marine's chest, she can feel his cock poke against her back, a wetness soaking through his pants. Zanya scowls immediately.

"I had a father once," she murmurs again, pulling the gun of his mouth. She grimaces at the stream of saliva dripping off the barrel, sliding the gun across the floor as the man gasps. His eyes are glazed, his hips thrust vainly behind her and Zanya steels herself against the urge to turn around and claw his gonads off.

"And if you were _my_ father," Zanya purrs, "I would be _so_ disappointed."

She plunges her fingers directly into his eye sockets, listening to him scream and feeling him thrash wildly beneath her. Her guardians are at the door in an instant and she looks coolly over her shoulder, warning them not to come inside. Zarana makes a face and turns around with a curse, but Zandar lingers for a while, curious.

Zanya prefers her uncle, he keeps his mouth shut and allow his actions to speak for themselves. His hair's still recovering from Zarana's horrid dye work, it's a pale red too close to pink for his taste. He uses holographics for his disguises, and prefers knives to guns. The face tattoos help make him look more intimidating because he's so damn lanky, unlike his older brother.

Once the marine quits squirming, Zanya stands up and washes her hands in the dirty sink, sighing heavily and pulling the chair back into a standing position.

"Nothing from him either," she laments and Zandar casts an arm around her shoulder.

"Someone has what you need, baby girl, I know it."

"I know, Uncle, but its so frustrating. _She_ isn't helping." Zanya growls, eyeing the silhouette of her aunt with distain.

"Oh, come off it, princess," Zarana sneers. "What were you expecting? Having everything handed to you off the bat? How pathetic."

Zandar grabs Zanya's upper arm before she can take a proper swipe at Zarana, giving his twin sister a stout glare as Zanya takes a moment to steady herself. She doesn't grace her aunt with a retort, moving instead to the pantry and thrusting it open. Inside is another man, similarly bound with a rag stuffed down his throat, he looks wildly from Zanya to the twins and finally at the dead marine. He wails from behind his gag as Zanya pulls him into the kitchen area, having him face the dead man whose eyes drip like mucus down his face. Zanya sighs deeply and puts a hand on the soldier's quaking shoulder.

"Now listen hear, sailor boy, because I have a few questions for you."

* * *

Fenris feels a knot in her stomach forming when she wakes up, clutching her head next and groaning. Something been bothering her for a while, but she can't quite place it. She knows it's a memory, something she's been repressing which probably explains the unconventional pain – her brain must be asking her why the hell she wants to remember something so traumatising – but still.

It's been two whole years since that ordeal, and now she can converse with Storm Shadow sans killing intent. She hasn't socked him in the nose in a long time and nor does she long to, perhaps because he's a decent fellow without the mind control and the threat of exile. True, the Arashikage ninja haven't really accepted him but his decision to relinquish his status as heir certainly gained him points. Jinx, for all intents and purposes, is now leading the clan with _some_ advice from her cousin. Wouldn't want anyone thinking he's influencing her or something stupid like that. No, Storm Shadow has been living with Snake Eyes and herself, the three of them an efficient three-man team.

Fenris likes it, their missions are simple and to the point: retrievals, tracking, and any real fighting is minimal. Not that she's has a problem with fighting, Fenris wields the chain Gleipnir with deadly precision that she doesn't even need to get close to her enemies to wound or kill them. The distance helps and Snake Eyes has been an excellent teacher of letting things go. If missions go south, if killing is involved, he'll stay up the entire night and coach her through the nightmares and her own insecurities.

As Fenris makes her way into the living room, she finds Erebus lounging on the sole couch, a laptop propped on his knees and his crimson eyes glaring at the screen. There are bags under his eyes, Fenris senses the lecture Snake Eyes is bound to give him, but her teacher isn't in. Erebus looks up blearily from the screen, his eyes open a little wider and he abruptly shuts the laptop and shoves it under the couch, bounding over like puppy who hasn't grown into his feet yet. Which could be considered ironic because Erebus is missing an arm.

Cobra shot it off two years, right at the shoulder area so poor guy doesn't even get a stub. At least when crossing his arms, it could've looked intimidating, yet it looks…romantic? Like he's hugging himself shyly in front of a crush, Fenris wisely keeps this thought to herself.

And as his hand comes down on her head, she readies herself for the morning greeting.

"Good morning, pup."

Oh yes, _that_.

Little tidbit: Fenris nearly bit off Firefly's arm. She managed to get her teeth around one of his arm bones as he was choking her, apparently everyone unanimously decided "Fenris" was an apt name for her (who knew they all had some Norse mythology knowledge?). And really, Fenris likes it too, it's the new nickname of "pup" that's the issue here. Doesn't help that Snake Eyes is starting to use it.

"Morning, where is everyone?"

"Playing ninja in the woods," Erebus replied, flopping back onto the couch. "Breakfast is in the fridge."

"You aren't game today?" Fenris asks, opening the fridge and pulling open a small bowl of sticky rice and salmon, a bit of miso soup, and even some dango (Snake Eyes knows Fenris likes something sweet in the morning).

"No, _I_ actually have work to do."

"What kind of work?"

Erebus pulls the laptop back onto his lap and frowns, flipping it open and staring pensively at the screen. Fenris sits down at the table with her chopsticks, staring at him. Erebus shrugs and leans back a little.

"Nothing concrete, just whispers." He answers vaguely.

Fenris frowns.

"Can't be "just whispers" if it's keeping you awake."

"I'm sorry?"

"Dude," she gestures at him. "Bags under your eyes, hair undone, clothes look a little more rumpled, and you didn't have anyone tie your sleeve."

Erebus opens his mouth for a retort but closes it in the time it takes for Fenris to stride over and take his empty sleeve, tying it into a knot and patting his cheek. He smiles at her and sighs deeply, running his hand through his hair with his eyes closed.

"Want me to braid it?"

"Eat first." He relents, tapping his fingers on the keyboard.

Fenris obliges him, finishing quietly and jumping in behind him with a pair of clean chopsticks and a hair tie. She combs his fingers through his hair and fishtails it, tying the elastic around the end and then looping the braid into a circle on top of his head. Fenris sticks the chopsticks into the bun and tugs at his hair experimentally.

"Dude, we totally need beads for your hair." Fenris announces, resting her chin on his shoulder.

The screen is awash with code, a chatroom or something, and the word that keeps popping up is VIPER. She eyes Erebus and he groans, stretching his arm and leaning back against her. Fenris fondly remembers her brother Logan, how they used to do this all the time as kids when both of them had long hair. Fenris prefers her short hair now, no one can pull on it and its blue!

"Yeah, yeah, sure." He says distractedly.

"…would I be completely off to assume VIPER is related to Cobra?"

"Not entirely, which worries me. Cobra's been quiet, oddly quiet, and then out of the blue this group comes up sporting a similar name? I don't like coincidences."

"Do the guys know?"

"Do we know what?"

Fenris looks up at Storm Shadow as he pushes into the interior of the cabin, she raises an eyebrow at his bare chest. Without looking up from the computer screen, Erebus reaches over and grabs a towel from a basket next to the couch, throwing it at Storm Shadow's face.

Behind him, Snake Eyes slides inside and shuts the door behind him. He is also shirtless, and Erebus throws another towel blindly. Fenris smiles faintly at the two of them, more so at Snake Eyes as he shakes his lengthening blond hair. He'll likely cut it in the next couple of days, but will allow enough hair to tie a small ponytail because it amuses Fenris. Mask less, Snake Eyes smiles gratefully at Fenris and walks over for a quick hair before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

Erebus rolls his eyes and gestures to his screen. "It's this thing called VIPER…"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO: A Sinking Feeling**

Snake Eyes sits on the couch with Erebus, scanning the screen with a veiled expression. Fenris eyes him curiously, watching the way his mouth thins into a passive line and his eyes remain laser focused on the lines of code. Storm Shadow had left the living room for a quick shower but his body language visibly flat lined; the ninja wasn't that expressive in the first place but searching his eyes and posturing could at least offer clues, but the moment Erebus said "VIPER" he abruptly turned away and shielded his face, draping the towel over his head and jogging out into the hall.

Snake Eyes had watched Storm Shadow go with an blank face, jokingly tossing his towel at the other man's back, eliciting a quick bark of laughter. A familiar tenseness occupied the room, the three of them reverting a serious mindset usually unleashed during missions.

Fenris kept a measurable distance away from the computer, sitting on the table and biting her lip. Out of the trio of guys, Erebus was the least bothered about VIPER and she wasn't sure if he was just really jaded or really stupid. He'd lost an _arm_ , one would think something like that might instill fear or self-preservation but not for Erebus, apparently.

The one-armed swordsman removed himself from the couch, squeezing Fenris's shoulder as he did so with a smile. He was the youngest of the ninja but it bothered Fenris that his face was always so carefree…

After a few more minutes of tense silence, Storm Shadow ghosted back into the room and received a plate of food from Erebus; Snake Eyes closed the laptop and quickly walked into his room. Storm Shadow leaned against a counter, idling pushing his food around the plate while staring at Erebus, his lips jus barely moving.

Of course, being ninja, there was always coded message flying between the three of them but Fenris wasn't particularly invested in decoding them; it still bothered her that they still had to hide so much. It wasn't as if her Japanese had improved much…

Snake Eyes returned from his room seconds later, retrieving his water bottle and bumping it rhythmically against his leg. Morse? Really?

Fenris frowned and sighed audibly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the trio of them lingering in the kitchen. Snake Eyes looked a tad breathless as he stared into Erebus's face, but the younger man offered nothing.

"So…what's the verdict?" Fenris tried, not really expecting an answer but perking up as they all turned towards her.

"Probably screwed."

" _We're fine."_

"Nothing to be concerned about."

Erebus grinned, Snake Eyes looked tired, and Storm Shadow was a bare-faced liar.

Fenris exhaled slowly and Erebus started snickering, anticipating the blow up. Snake Eyes was already halfway across the room when she punched his arm and swung him around to face his co-conspirators, her face tight.

"Clearly there's a disconnect here." She started, keeping her voice level. "Erebus?"

"Just calls for my head, nothing new." He deadpanned almost gleefully. Fenris looked up at Snake Eyes, locking an arm around his waist and hoping her face didn't flush with the action.

"And what do _you_ think, Snake Eyes?" she murmured, ignoring the amused look on Erebus's face.

" _They're clearly linked to the Fort Sumter incident, Zartan had friends in high places…Family in others."_

That was concerning; Zartan was a master of disguise and one of Cobra's most trusted subordinates. His time as President probably afforded him a few favours from less than honorable people. The family bit was interesting too as Fenris couldn't quite picture little Zartans wreaking havoc all over the world.

"And what does Storm Shadow think?" she wondered, staring the ninja down.

Storm Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose and shrugged with an exasperated sigh.

"An old faction of Cobra went by VIPER once, but they've all be captured or killed. Besides, if Erebus is so confident, it clearly isn't a problem."

Fenris felt the muscles on Snake Eyes's arm clench, she stabbed her fingers into his hip and grimaced at Storm Shadow.

"OK, so who did you contact then, hun?" Fenris bumped Snake Eyes's arm with her head.

" _I was expecting a call from Scarlet, she sent us all wedding invitations."_

He freed himself from her grip and took up residence in the corner of the room on a blue mat, moving into a meditation pose and effectively ending the conversation.

Fenris groaned and put her hands over her face, moving onto the couch and flopping dramatically onto it, her eyes on Snake Eyes's impassive face. She observed the rise and fall of his chest, his breathing slowing until it looked as if he was dead.

Erebus snorted and sat down against the couch, pulling his laptop out and closing off the other windows, bringing up YouTube videos and giggling indiscriminately. Storm Shadow wandered around the living room, trying to find a suitable spot before he migrated outside for his own mediation. Fenris lay on the couch for a while, knowing one of the guys would bug her about training in a little while and she wasn't sure who'd look after her this time. They rotated every couple of days, ensuring Fenris wasn't stuck with one teacher. Really, she didn't need one anymore, not when it came to hand-to-hand anyway.

Since the whole Fort Sumter thing, Fenris had unofficially joined the G. I. Joes as Snake Eyes's apprentice, and the past two years he had nearly uninterrupted time to bring her up to a suitable level of combat experience. Interestingly, she taken to the wrestling bit rather well.

Fenris didn't get a lot of time to see the rest of the Joes but given that Scarlet and Ripcord were getting married in a few months, she could wait a little longer.

She glanced over at Snake Eyes as he shifted his position quietly, his eyes twitching open for the briefest of seconds. Fenris waved. His mouth twitched into half a smile before he lapsed back into his meditation.

Snake Eyes…was certainly happy about Scarlet's marriage, Ripcord made her laugh and genuinely wanted to work _with_ her rather than strictly look _after_ her. But seeing as they were on the same team, Ripcord was willing to pilot a different team, Gamma, so their marriage couldn't jeopardize their work. He was still working on recruits with General Hawk, but he was more invested on the wedding…despite Scarlet planning it all out herself. Not that anyone was surprised, really, Scarlet liked taking care of these things and why invite disaster when you can plan around it?

Snake Eyes felt a little left out though, Fenris knew. He and Scarlet had been partners and personal friends for a while, and it felt strange knowing she was taking such a large leap without him. Duke was already Ripcord's best man, Roadblock was willing to walk her down the isle, and everyone assumed Scarlet would call in one of Abernathy's Angels (of which Fenris was also a part of) to be her Maid of Honour.

Fenris sighed, pulling herself off the couch as Erebus shut off his laptop. He grinned up at her and she walked around to his front, grabbing his sole hand and yanking him to his feet.

"Guess I'm with you?"

"Storm Shadow might join us, but yeah, I got you, babe." Erebus teased lightly, ruffling her hair. He paused and glanced at Snake Eyes. "Don't fall asleep, Shizu-chan."

Just as Erebus turned his back, a pillow smashed into his head.

* * *

Zanya watched the small bungalow go up in flames with a pleased look on her face, the bright orange flames licked the pitch black sky with fervor and ferocity. At least Zarana could do _something_ right for a change; the three of them were flying out tonight after leaving a sizable trail of breadcrumbs for the authorities to follow, the stench of burning flesh was carefully travelling along the wind streams.

A pair of headlights warmed her back, Zanya turned and jogged towards the van, leaping inside and pulling Zarana up with her. Zandar drove backwards off the driveway and headed for the jet idling in the nearby docks, flashing blue and red lights glowed in the distance. They ditched the van on the beach, dragging a large duffel bag into the shallows and kicking it several times for good measure. Zandar and Zarana ran across the docks, jumped into the plane and started the engine. Zanya waited on the docks for a little while longer, letting the searchlight fall on her body – she lifted her hands into the air and flipped her middle fingers up, dashing towards the plane and laughing as men shouted at her back.

The plane glided over the waves for a few minutes, bullets zipped by on both sides, but the plane still rose into the air like a vengeful bird of prey. It dove up into the dark clouds hanging into in the milky darkness, and vanished from view completely.

Back on land, the officers swarmed the van and in turn noticed the duffel bag slowly being dragged into the water, a muffled screaming startled the men as they quickly drew the bag back onto the beach. They pulled off the zipper and a head shot up, gasping and sobbing as thick red blood lapped over his lips. The seasoned veterans of the force paled, they pried open his mouth and found his tongue missing, parts of it were stuck in his teeth.

…had his captors forced him to eat it?

His eyes were wide and thankfully intact, and while his body was scarred, none of his fingers had been broken. They cut through the duct tape binding his limbs and escorted him to the ambulance parked on the driveway, pulling a blanket around him as he moaned and shivered.

Fire fighters fought the blaze into the early morning, forensics would find the remains of at least five separate bodies all found bound in chairs in the kitchen area, another seven were locked in the basement. The five in the kitchen had been tortured extensively, some lost limbs and other body parts. The ones in the basement were untouched, they been locked inside and had been alive when the blaze started, likely dying of smoke inhalation first. Hopefully.

Searching the surrounding area, officers found one tree terribly marked up – first scoured with a knife, and then drawn over with blood, was one word, **VIPER.**

* * *

Zanya slept in the back of the jet, head against the window and her feet kicked up over the arms of the chair. Zarana and Zandar piloted the plane in silence, almost too scared to breathe.

"You know something's wrong with her." Zarana whispered, eying her niece worriedly.

"So?" Zandar yawned. "We're not exactly the cream of the crop."

"Are you stupid? I may be a bit of a pyromaniac but _that_ is not…she's not natural." Zarana groused, flailing her arms childishly.

"She's her dad's child, Zarana. Get over it."

"Do you know where we're even going, who were going to meet?"

Zandar huffed, tuning out his sister squealing tone and focusing on the horizon. What was she expecting really? They were going by the moniker of VIPER, who else would they align themselves with? The Dreadnoks, at least when their brother was alive, was a formidable gang with worldly reaches. That was how Cobra vetted _him_ after all. After Zartan's death, the gang fell to violence: who would lead them? Certainly not Zarana, she was just as flightily as their mother, and Zartan always had better control over her. Zandar didn't like the idea of leadership, didn't like being fettered to something all the damn time which is why travelling with Zanya and Zarana had its benefits. No one told them what to do, and Zandar didn't have to bother with leading anything.

Zanya was certainly Zartan's daughter, she had a good head on her shoulders, ignoring her little bouts of bloodlust. And she caused enough noise that Cobra was looking at them again, not just as pawns but as actual players in the bigger game. Revenge was something they all desired, and the Dreadnoks had fallen into obscurity after Zartan left for Cobra.

But now? They were an unknown! Fucking untouchable! And he couldn't wait for what happened next, couldn't wait for what Zanya would get them into. Could. Not. Wait.

"Would you shut up? I'm trying to sleep, bitch." Zanya whined, Zandar chuckled and whacked his sister's head.

"You heard the princess, shut up Zarana." Zandar snickered.

"Don't take her side, asshole!"

"Shut _up_." Zanya insisted, covering her ears and groaning. "I hate flying; you are not making this a great experience for me."

"Oh, can it you little cu-"

Zandar turned the plane to one side, snorting with glee as Zarana flopped ungracefully to one side and Zanya squealed, clutching her seat and reaching for her seat belt.

"Both of you shut up or I'm turning around." He growled, smiling a little.

"And what, are you going to turn us in too?" Zarana squeaked, face pale. "Fucking prick."

"Never again, Uncle, or I'll gouge your eyes too." Zanya threatened darkly but she couldn't help giggling.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, crazy broads."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE: Commence the Hunt**

Zanya wakes up and looks out her window, flinching at the drop in temperature and rummaging under the seat for a sweater. Zandar and Zarana are both passed out in the front, snoring loudly like some absurd comedy band. Zanya rolls her eyes and peers through the frozen glass, spying dark figures slowly stalking towards them. She grabs a rifle from a case at the back of the plane, kicking open the door and shivering at the burst of sudden cold air. Zarana shrieks and curses at her, reaching for a woolly blanket as Zandar lazily drapes himself on Zanya, squinting at the distant figures.

Zanya pulls the scope up to her eye, watching the tallest figure raise a hand and wave. She grins, lowering the weapon and stepping away from the opening. Zarana preens in the small compact mirror she jacked from a convenience store, trying to get her bright pink hair into some semblance of order before the plane is boarded. Zandar gapes, stepping aside as a large grey wolf prowls into the vehicle, its cybernetic enhancements whirling and glittering. A few hawks fly in, equally tampered with and then Cobra Commander finally slinks inside with a large boa constrictor. Zarana looks love struck.

"Glad you could make it here, Zanya," he rasps, taking her hand. "Zartan spoke fondly of you."

"I'm sure he did." She replies, firmly shaking his hand. "I like your dog."

"A little side project I didn't have time to implement two years ago, think of it as a gift."

Cobra straightens up and nods at Zandar, whom he's met, and glances over at Zarana briefly. He takes a seat in he back of the plane while the others all stand about him, patient and obedient. The snake curls about his feet languidly, its metallic skin coloured green and brown and unaffected by the frost outside; Zarana quickly shuts the door and bundles up.

"But you're probably wondering why I asked you here."

"I'm a little curious, yes, I thought you still had supporters?" Zandar answers, a rare show of interest and even rarer insistence of him stringing more than five words together.

"Many have left, daunted by our previous failures. The few loyal ones I have left in my service couldn't make it, we're creating more of these… _pets_." Cobra looks to Zanya as she carefully strokes the head of the wolf.

"What do you need from us?" she asks.

"No more than what you are already doing, my dear. The media is filled with VIPER's crimes, and I even hear _Erebus_ is taking an interest."

Zanya bristles at the name.

Not so long ago, Erebus was an informant of hers. So long as she didn't outwardly hunt people down, he'd keep the feds off her back as best he could. He'd promised her two years ago that when he encountered Zartan, he would force the master of disguise to hand over leadership of the Dreadnoks to her. If Zartan himself decreed it, everyone would have to listen to him, and Zanya could finally prove herself worthy of leading. So she gave him every bit of information she had on her father, all the notes, all the phone calls, his known locations.

He promised her father would not be killed, he'd be delivered back to her subdued, not dead. _Not_ dead.

But then that incident happened, leaked footage of his body being tossed into the sea without a prayer, of Erebus standing by doing nothing. She _hated_ him. Despised him. And now, now was the time to get back at him.

"Everything you've done so far has worked out beautifully, Zanya. When Erebus takes the bait, and we know he will, all I ask is that you draw in three more casualties for me." Cobra hisses consolingly.

"As long as I get to kill him."

"Of course," Cobra reached into his jacket and pulls out three files, three very thin files. "Two of these faces, you will recognize. The third should not be too much of a threat, I'd like them delivered to me relatively intact. Do what you will with Erebus, I already robbed him of an arm."

"Good shooting too," Zarana murmurs, catching Cobra's gaze before she looks away.

"That's all?"

Zanya purses her lips as Cobra cocks his head to one side. It's impossible to read his expression with that metal plate over his face; all she can see is her own childishly confused expression reflected back at her. It seems like a small favour to get what she wants, even smaller for Cobra to get back on his feet again and rally his troops. She thumbs through the files, recognizing the traitor Storm Shadow and the ninja Snake Eyes, the one called Fenris looks too green for battle despite the gnarly scars.

Zanya frowns at the unknown, and thinks hard. She doesn't want the Dreadnoks to become another part of Cobra's bigger picture, she wants her clean and simple revenge, and wants to go so far away that no one can ever bother her again. VIPER is a _means_ to an end, not _the_ end.

"Getting cold feet, maybe? I understand this is a grave undertaking, you will certainly have a lot more eyes on you – "

"I'm not getting cold feet, just thinking." Zanya growls at Cobra. "This is the one thing we do for you, you hear me? I'm not a Cobra goon, I'm a Dreadnok. And when this business between us is done, I lead them however I damn well please."

"Yes, of course, Zanya." Cobra stands and takes her shoulders in his hands. "Think of this as…as a contract. You won't be obligated to do more, unless you want to."

Zarana nods, Zandar shrugs, and Zanya shakes her head.

She takes a few steps backward and walks with Cobra back to the door of the plane. The boa constrictor slithers up his pant leg and weaves itself around one of his arms, two of the three hawks fly out into the cold, and the grey wolf powers down. Cobra pulls out a small case, the controlling device for the creatures, and waves goodbye, disappearing into the blizzard as if walking out onto a beach. Zanya heaves the door shut and sighs, rubbing her arms for warmth and settling back into her seat, one hand dangling over the edge of the armrest to pet the wolf.

"Well, let's get started then."

* * *

A few days' pass, Fenris focuses on training until a message from Hawk comes in. Snake Eyes receives it first, and the details are filtered out by Storm Shadow but the bottom line is that they're going to Hawaii. Not a terribly long flight, thank God, but an oddly strange mission. It's mainly a survey and report back to base kind of thing, a number of bodies had popped up in a raging fire and all of them previously served with the Joes. They will rendezvous with the Alpha Team who will be primarily investigating, it sounds more like an experience building mission.

Snake Eyes still encourages her to bring her weapons though, nothing promises a non-violent mission anyway. At the same time, Erebus leaves as well for Hawaii, as this attack is linked to VIPER which is more and more becoming linked with him.

Landing in Hawaii, the four of them are transported quietly and secretly to a small motel near the fire, Erebus disappears and conducts his own investigations at the site. All of the Alpha Team, sans Ripcord who's still fielding agents for his new team, have camped out on the floor of their bungalow. It reminds Fenris of her first encounter with them, and she quickly occupies a place on the floor with Scarlet. She doesn't wear her engagement ring on missions but she almost constantly glowing now, like she's captured the sort of iridescence stars have.

Scarlet lies on her stomach with a tablet, communicating with Ripcord back in some classified location. She looks up at their arrival and waves, smiling up at Snake Eyes who lies beside Fenris on his back. Storm Shadow hovers in the kitchen, surveying the available space with a resigned look, he'll abandon the indoors to sleep on the roof.

Breaker's tapping away on his computer, trying to mole anymore information about VIPER, Duke and Heavy Duty are placing chess on the couch.

"We got the invites," Fenris whispers. "I haven't had a chance to look at them properly though."

Snake Eyes sighs and sits back up, blindly ruffling her hair and standing back up. He moves towards Storm Shadow, Fenris can't see how his hands are moving.

"Don't worry about it, it's in the summer so there's time." Scarlet mumbles, she logs out of her tab and moves onto her side.

Fenris raises an eyebrow and mirrors her pose, the others couldn't properly see them speaking.

"How has Snake Eyes been?" Scarlet asks in a hushed tone as the ninja sits back down.

" _We'll get moving soon, don't fall asleep."_

"Got it." Fenris returns to staring at Scarlet, waiting for some sort of distraction.

Duke lets out an aggravated groan and the ninja gets up and crosses the room, leaning over Duke thoughtfully with a hand wrapped around his chin.

"He's been…fine?" Fenris tries, the answer not registering any emotional response from Scarlet. "But he's been really quiet about you, well, _quieter_. He doesn't use too many words about you."

"I get the feeling I've upset him somehow, he's hasn't been talking with me recently and when he does it's…different."

"I'll bug him about it after the mission." Fenris promises, sitting back up as Storm Shadow walks to the door.

"Could you? That would be great," she grabs Fenris's hand. "What about _you_ and Snake Eyes?"

Fenris opens her mouth to respond but Snake Eyes glides in behind her, tapping her shoulder expectantly before moving towards the door.

"I will tell you later." Fenris whispers, jogging backwards the following the guys outside.

They smell the smoke long before they see the site, Erebus is poking around a tree a few feet away from the rubble. Snake Eyes passes her blueprints of the building and walks down the beach, lightly stepping around the deep footprints left in the sand. Storm Shadow jumps right into the thick of things by exploring the blackened structure, carefully moving underground and examining the bodies forensics hasn't picked up yet. Fenris kneels by the entrance, her eyes roving over the blueprints before she starts moving inside.

The fire started in the kitchen, that area was almost completely unrecognizable. The entrance to the basement is in the centre of the room, Fenris grabbed a flashlight and flicked it on. The spotlight falls on Storm Shadow's blank face and Fenris hisses, glaring down at the ninja.

"I was just going to ask for a light," he says lightly. "The interesting stuff's down here, come on."

He moves out of her line of sight and Fenris groans, tossing the blueprints out and hopping in. It's not far down but her ankles ache at the impact, she flashes the light around and finds Storm Shadow in one corner of the room. She shines the light on him and he tilts away, Fenris sees a row of manacles fastened to the wall. She swallows thickly at the distorted bodies dangling from the chains, not burned so much as…red.

"Something's been feeding on them." Storm Shadow remarks drying, drawing a sword.

"How big?"

"Here? Maybe a wild boar, there's a passageway behind us."

Fenris frowns immediately, backing up and standing beside Storm Shadow. She looks at the bodies again, then up at the ceiling of the room.

"Smoke inhalation?"

"Probably, a few might've survived which is why they left an animal down here."

"Correct me if I'm wrong…"

Fenris and Storm Shadow start walking, Fenris grabs one of the blade ends of Gleipnir, this one inscribed with _Skoll_.

"Yes?"

"This leads in the direction of the ocean. I didn't think motels had secret passageways."

Storm Shadow chuckles. "No, they don't. Keep your light up, I go first."

True to his word, Storm Shadow started down the narrow tunnel on the other side of the room, sliding in sideways with a few grunts. Fenris followed after him, entering with a little more ease while trying to aim the light somewhere pass his chest. They're inside for only a few minutes when Storm Shadow raises his hand, they could hear waves a few feet in front of them and Fenris could make out something like a cage.

"When the tide is low enough, something comes out of that cage." Storm Shadow said, there was a sizable gap between them and the cage.

"Somehow, they've funneled the water down here to go left to right. Enough fish must pass through here as food." He went on, starting to push her backwards.

"Is it a boar?" Fenris whispered back.

"A very big boar…and its seen us." He pushes her backwards, the two of them quietly hurrying back the way they came.

"Oh fuck no…"

"Just keep moving, shut the light off."

Fenris did as she was told and shut the light off, stumbling out of the tunnel and rolling away before Storm Shadow stepped on her. She shifted under the hole and cursed, what little light shone made it difficult to see Storm Shadow.

Tentatively, she turned the flashlight on and pointed to upwards, hoping either Snake Eyes or Erebus would see. And then she heard it.

Shrieking metal, a loud thump, and then the boar squealing.

Storm Shadow pulled out his other sword and Fenris stuck the flashlight in the ground, holding one blade out in front of her and waiting. The passageway sagged as if it was truly made of sand, and the boar squeezed through the opening and snorted. Storm Shadow didn't move very fast, but he swung one sword down on the beast's back and it _clanged_ as if it hit metal.

"Back up, and grab that light!" Storm Shadow commandeered, hurling himself away as the boar charged him.

Fenris hissed and snatched up the light, shining it around the room and blinding the boar. It stamped the ground madly and squealed, turning away from Storm Shadow and heading for Fenris. She tossed the light towards him and released the blade, letting it hit the sand beneath her feet before she grabbed the chain and spun, heaving the blade up. It clanged under the boar's face but it was enough to stun him, Fenris danced back and threw the blade again, grunting as it bounced off the boar's horn, snapping it.

Storm Shadow tossed the light up and out of the hole, leaping onto the boar's back and sliding both of his swords under its chin, Fenris twirled and heaved both blades into its face, staggering backwards as the boar bucked Storm Shadow off. She wasn't sure how well a boar could see in the dark, but it didn't appear to matter because it evidently had better eyesight than her.

It barrelled towards her, its remaining horn slashing through her thigh, Fenris tripped over a piece of wood, throwing her arms up to defend from the boar's hooves. They cracked against the blades, Fenris cried out at the impact, hoping she hadn't broken a rib; it was enough though to call down Snake Eyes who pulled the creature off.

"Metal back and face!" Fenris warned, wheezing and checking her wrists for breaks.

Snake Eyes nodded, diving and slicing through a leg. Storm Shadow picked himself up and went for another leg, the two ninja rearing backwards at the sudden red light coming from the boar's eyes. Fenris saw waves of heat and dashed for the tunnel, throwing herself onto the ground as laser cut through the space where her head might've been. Snake Eyes moved behind the beast and cut its tail off, launching himself upwards and out of the hole.

The boar continued to shoot lasers and Fenris saw her chance – the sides of the boar were not armour plated. She climbed to her feet and swung both arms, sending the blades flying into the boar's sides, and she slowly pulled the chain back, ripping the skin open. Storm Shadow ducked low and stabbed a long knife into the cut, pounding it further into the boar's chest until it roared and sunk to the ground lifeless.

"Everyone OK?" Erebus called, tipping his head into the opening.

"We're alright, Fenris?" Storm Shadow stood up and pulled her blades from the boar.

"Hopefully just bruises." She answered standing beside the ninja, coiling the chain and examining her blades. They were slick with oil and blood, she made a face.

Storm Shadow hummed thoughtfully and jumped up, Erebus caught one of his hands and yanked him back above ground where the two of them pulled Fenris up. She hissed and glared down at the cut on her thigh, fingering it slightly with a groan as Snake Eyes appeared and probed the cut with his fingers.

" _I've called the others to investigate, we're done here."_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR: Unresolved**

 _Fenris was still spitting blood out of her mouth when she and Roadblock meandered back into the fort, coming across Storm Shadow who released a sigh of actual relief. The black body bag containing Zartan's corpse was lying prone on the beach, it hadn't bee zipped up yet and Fenris was glad Storm Shadow hadn't cut him up badly. Firefly was another story entirely, Roadblock took the transmitter from Fenris that set off his fireflies, blowing up the man and dividing him into a couple pieces._

" _How'd we do?" Roadblock asked._

" _Well, Erebus is…"_

" _What happened?" Fenris looked into Storm Shadow's face and paled at his expression, running around him and heading straight for the helicopter._

 _She could just barely make out a group of people wheeling a person onto the helicopter, Fenris felt sick to her stomach, barely registering a pair of strong arms wrapping around her stomach and pulling her back. The air was snatched from her lungs, her head whipping around, eyes latching onto the face of Snake Eyes. Her knees gave out and Snake Eyes sunk down with her, lifting her chin up and staring at her mouth._

" _What happened?" he signed, his hands were shaking._

" _I bit Firefly," Fenris giggled, shuddering and leaning into Snake Eyes's chest._

" _You what?"_

" _You should've seen her, Snake, a regular bear trap. She didn't let go…" Roadblock stated proudly, Fenris immediately appreciated the fact he hadn't dubbed her "Bear Trap" instead._

 _Snake Eyes nodded, knowing he'd get the full story later, and looked then to the new burn marks on her face. He ran a thumb over them gently and sighed audibly, pushing her head against his shoulder and shaking his head._

" _I'm sorry I wasn't there." He wrote on her arm._

" _I didn't do too bad, I'm certainly not dead."_

 _Fenris and Snake Eyes both flinched, carefully standing back up and moving a part as more people came onto the beach._

" _What happened to Erebus, is he OK?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest as Snake Eyes waved a medic over._

" _Cobra shot off his arm, he's lost a lot of blood but he'll be fine." Snake Eyes assured her, turning his body towards her as he watched the shoreline._

" _So…Cobra got away?" Fenris murmured, wincing as burn gel was applied onto her skin._

" _Yes."_

" _Guess we'll get him next time, right?"_

 _Snake Eyes nodded. "Next time."_

* * *

Fenris limped back to the bungalow with Snake Eyes as the others went to investigate the boar, save for Scarlet. The red-haired woman helped Fenris into a seat and first examined the wound on her thigh, pulling out a tall canister and shaking it around before spraying it onto her skin. Fenris hissed and clenched her fists, restraining herself from accidently kicking Scarlet.

Snake Eyes was sitting across from them against the wall with Gleipnir draped around his knees, he ran his fingers along the edge of the blade, thick black and red blood coating the tips of his fingers. Scarlet glanced back at him and nudged a small box towards him, a tester of some sort.

"It's most likely oil and the boar's blood but we should make sure," she said softly, standing up and grabbing a roll of bandages.

"Could you check my wrists; I feel like I…broke something."

Scarlet laughed. "Believe me, if you broke something, you'd know." She took Fenris's wrists anyway. "That hurt?"

"Yep." Fenris wheezed.

Snake Eyes looked up and Fenris grimaced at him. Scarlet pulled out a tablet and ran it over her arms, frowning and shrugging her shoulders.

"Small fractures, what did you do?"

"The boar kind of jumped me, I think my wrists absorbed most of it." Fenris tried ignoring how Snake Eyes was staring at her.

"I see. Next time then, maybe not let it do that." She smiled. "You'll be fine, a few weeks and those will heal on their own. I'll wrap them up though, they'll probably swell up a bit. Those are some nice bruises already…"

Fenris nodded and leaned back, Snake Eyes finished doing whatever and went into the kitchen to clean himself up. He cleaned Gleipnir and left it coiled up on the floor near Fenris's seat, and when everyone else came back he vanished outside with Storm Shadow. Erebus looked at them curiously and then lumbered over and draped himself over the back of the seat, gently lifting Fenris's arms and whistling.

"Nice, pup."

"Oh, don't start." She groaned. "Is he mad at me or something?" Fenris jerked her head towards the window where she could see the two ninja outside.

"Nah, probably scolding Storm Shadow though."

"What a little shit…Scarlet can I use these or…?" Fenris lifted her arms experimentally.

"Just be careful, we don't need you doing further damage." Scarlet said nodding, and Fenris got off out of the seat (which was swiftly claimed by Erebus), and walked outside.

The moment she turned towards them, Storm Shadow shut his mouth and lifted his arms into the air. Snake Eyes turned and started signing when Fenris shook her head and held the door open.

"In, Storm Shadow." She ordered shortly and the ninja looked briefly grateful.

She closed the door behind him and limped in front of the window, continuing until she forced Snake Eyes to the rear of the building where no one else could see them. She rested against the wall and leisurely folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head to one side and raising an eyebrow.

"I'm fine, you know." She began. "If you're honestly going to chew Storm out for not…I don't know, looking after me? Then straight up don't, I put myself in that situation and I'm paying for it."

" _Thalia."_

"Don't. I'm your apprentice, these things are going to happen."

Snake Eyes held his hands out but lowered them, choosing instead to lean over and rest his head against hers. Fenris felt her cheeks heat up, felt the urge to wrap her arms around him and while she didn't do that, she did place her hands against his chest.

"You need to stop freaking out whenever this happens." She breathed and watched as Snake Eyes backed away.

He nodded, body language shutting down, and the two of them moved back inside. Storm Shadow extricated himself outside and jumped onto the roof, Snake Eyes took a spot against the wall and Erebus gave up his seat. Fenris settled into it reluctantly, huffing as Erebus tossed a blanket at her and lay down at her feet.

Heavy Duty and Scarlet came around with food though both Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow politely refused, and the extra helpings were split among the group. Fenris fended off Erebus's offer to feed her, angling her body away from everyone and shifting the plate of food against her knees and chest. Scarlet pulled a chair over and kicked her legs up on the arm rest, giving Fenris a questioning look. Fenris minutely shook her head, _I'll tell you later._

When dinner ended, the two of them went into the kitchen and took care of the plates, the guys busied themselves with the TV or chess.

"Well?" Scarlet whispered, ushering Fenris to sit on the countertop.

"He's…overprotective. Was he ever like this with Jinx?" Fenris awkwardly lifted herself up and sighed, rubbing her wrists and biting her lip.

"No, not that I remember but Jinx was already a trained ninja. He used to worry about me all the time when I studied under him."

"When did he stop worrying?" Fenris groaned, moving a hand over the lower half of her face.

"Once I joined the Joes, the experience helped us both get comfortable with my new role."

"How long did it take?"

Scarlet sighed and leaned against the sink, glancing at Snake Eyes as he faced off against Erebus on the chess board.

"A few years but I think it's different with you, you're a new relationship he's developed." Scarlet noted the way Fenris flushed at "relationship".

"Are you two…?"

"No." Fenris choked, shaking her head and looking out the window hanging over the sink. "At least…I don't think so."

* * *

The following morning, the ninja and Fenris were leaving and returning back to Japan. Erebus was going to Australia and would hopefully connect with an old informant, the Alpha Team was due to investigate another series of suspicious deaths related to VIPER.

Fenris slumped in her seat, glaring angrily at her wrists and trying to find a position that didn't aggravate her leg wound. She was also painfully aware that Snake Eyes kept giving her looks throughout the entire flight in between his oh so casual handstands at the back of the jet.

When they returned home, it was Storm Shadow who helped apply gel to her wrists to reduce the swelling, rewrapping her arms before he fled to his room. Fenris bypassed Snake Eyes entirely and snatched Gleipnir from her pack, moving outside and uncoiling both ends.

She spun them around slowly, waiting for them to gain enough momentum before she slid her feet along the ground. She threw them out a few times, whipping the chain about and grabbing onto the blades, pretending to fend off attackers. Halfway through her katas, one of her blades clanged against another solid object. Without pausing or even really looking, Fenris spun around and swung the other blade around. It soared over Snake Eyes's head and he leapt backward, pulling Fenris with him.

Grunting, she dug her heels into the earth and ignoring the growing ache in her wrists. Snake Eyes must've remembered that at the same time because he abruptly dropped one end of Gleipnir, Fenris pulled it back, spinning around and sending both blades flying towards them. He blocked with his swords, twisting them around the chain and pulling again.

This time, Fenris let them go. She ran at Snake Eyes and jumped him, wrapping her legs around his waist and actually clamping her teeth down over his left shoulder. He abandoned his swords and walked to a tree, bumping against it gently first. Fenris laughed a little, winding her arms around him and digging her fingers into his lower back. She knew this was cheating; grappling and wrestling had been something Fenris embraced entirely. She wasn't as good as Snake Eyes but she could at least throw him off guard and limit his movements.

He rammed her into the tree again, and she unclenched her jaw for half a second. The other upside to this form of fighting was that Snake Eyes couldn't communicate because when their training sessions came down to this, she was likely mad at him and didn't want a lecture.

The third time her back collided with the tree, Fenris let go of his shoulder and knocked her forehead against his chin, yelping as Snake Eyes tipped backwards. She removed her arms from around his back, bracing her wrists against his chest as they fell. He absorbed most of the fall with his own back, saving Fenris from feeling the brunt of the fall with her legs, but she also loosened her grip.

Snake Eyes flipped Fenris onto her back, crushing her hands between their chests as his legs crossed themselves over her own. Fenris blew her blueberry bangs out of her eyes and scowled up at him, wriggling beneath the ninja and trying to head butt him again. He leaned away, braced his arms on either side of her shoulders, and simply stared down at her.

"Almost had you." she grunted, bucking her hips against his and growling. "You are so bloody heavy."

She managed to pull her arms free and settled for pinching him but the leather suit protected him from that; she poked his sides repeatedly before just bashing her fists against his back. Fenris blew a raspberry and tapped out, waiting for Snake Eyes to get up before she surged upwards and swung onto his back, quickly grabbing one of his hands and pushing it up between his shoulder blades. She clamped her other hand down on his other hand, burrowing her knees into his sides and steadying herself for his counterattack.

His arm shook beneath her grasp and Fenris squeaked as Snake Eyes moved up onto his knees and started shaking his arm. She winched and let go of the arm she pinned to his back, wrapping her arm around his neck and twisting her legs back around his waist. Snake Eyes grunted and stood up, trying to pry her fingers around his wrist, he backed up into the tree again, her legs jolted and she hissed, tightening her legs around him.

Then he started spinning.

Really, really fast.

She let go of his arm and clutched his bicep, feeling his arms reach back and grab her shoulders.

 _Oh, please, no._

He lifted her over his head and threw her forwards, somehow she landed unsteadily on her feet, tumbling forward into a roll. By the time she turned around, two swords were pointed in her face.

"I'm going to throw up."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE: Shatter and Burn**

There was no TV or internet at Snake Eyes's secret dojo.

Realistically, Fenris understood how it was meant as a training sanctuary, a place to be truly connected with nature and so well-hidden that no one could ever find it. Which made perfect sense if one went there periodically for extended training missions, but not when one lived there for two years. If anything it meant Fenris had a lot of time to remember things and jot them down, compiling a list of important dates and writing down their significance. And even after completing it up until the present day, something was still missing. Fenris anticipated some degree of memory loss due to the trauma of Firefly and Storm Shadow's torture, but those moments she remembered in bits and pieces enough to understand what happened.

The incident with the boar triggered _something_ , something that was swimming in the depths of her memory, refusing to break the surface.

With a groan, she planted her face in a pillow as she lay on her stomach on the ground. Her journal and scraps of loose leaf boxed her in on all sides; paragraphs, mindless scribbles, doodles, or just a phrase practically carved into the paper. Nothing concrete and half the stuff she'd written was likely nothing more than a dream trying to piece together what her mind had clearly repressed, and Fenris didn't exactly know how to go about undoing her mind's safety protocols.

She looked up from her pillow and clicked the end of her gel pen a few times, staring blindly across the hall and into room where Snake Eyes slept. He was facing her but deep into his meditation exercises, he'd steadily been retreating more and more into that state rather than socialize or train. Storm Shadow was out almost every other day, trying to find a routine that kept him sane. Working with Cobra meant he moved around a lot and wasn't obligated to speak to too many people, and Fenris knew that spending time with Snake Eyes was something he enjoyed but she and Erebus complicated that.

Fenris huffed, watching as her careless breath carried a random scribble of the boar out into the hall and then how Snake Eyes's open window allowed the breeze to pull the drawing further into the room. Fenris swallowed as Snake Eyes shifted and opened his eyes, blinking them open a few times before he leaned over and grabbed the sheet. His eyes seemed to follow each line, perhaps comparing it with Logan's drawings. He lifted his head up and raised an eyebrow.

" _Is this still bothering you?"_ he asked, rising from the mat and walking into her room.

Snake Eyes leaned against the doorframe, staring anxiously at the chicken scratch blanketing some of the sheets, how clusters of paper littered the floor like landmines. Fenris read the expression on his face with restrained anger, gesturing lamely at her bed as she rolled onto her back, shoving the pillow behind her head as he sat down uncertainly.

Her room, and really all of their rooms, were barren. There were no paintings or posters, no colour at all but the same polished wood. Everything was practical, not emotional; they could leave at any time. The only thing that made Fenris's room special was the large wolf plushie Erebus had given her for her birthday two years, its yellow glassy eyes dim and cold.

"No…not in the way you think it does." Fenris said, noting how Snake Eyes winced. "It…triggered something. A memory I can't get to."

She shut her eyes for a second and let out another deep sigh, waving her arms at the disarray around her.

"I've been trying to remember what it is…but all I end up with is the boar again."

She looked up at him, clasping her hands over her stomach and lazily staring at the scar that roved over his lips. The charred lines on her own face were faint white scars, beacons of light stretching over her freckled skin. She briefly wondered if Snake Eyes could ever forget his scars when she so easily forgot hers. Maybe it was the isolation, maybe it was the fact that so many of her new friends wore their scars with pride.

Snake Eyes nodded thoughtfully and patted the space beside him, Fenris tried not to be too eager to join him.

" _Ever heard of a mind palace?"_ he asked as she climbed beside him, still clutching the pillow.

"Um…in passing from a friend. It helps organize information and remember things…?"

" _Exactly_ – " His face brightened, a teacher pleased with their student's answer.

"Hang on, is _that_ where you are when you meditate, your mind palace?" Fenris interrupted, pulling Snake Eyes's hands down before he could complete his thought. He nodded patiently and puled his hands back.

" _Sometimes, yes. I've been wondering if it might help you remember things in a safer environment, without something accidently triggering you."_

"But doesn't it take a while to build? We don't exactly have a lot of time."

Snake Eyes arched an eyebrow and shook his head, assuming the meditation pose and waiting for Fenris to copy him. When she did, he asked her to close her eyes and relax her mind. As his finger wrote instructions into her skin, Fenris felt her flesh break out into goosebumps at his touch, fighting involuntary shivers. There was the saying that when one of the five senses was down, the others would fight to compensate for the loss, and Fenris was suddenly much too aware of her proximity to Snake Eyes.

Biting her lip, she fought to clear her mind of all distractions; the whistling of the wind outside, the rattle of the paper on the ground, her own breathing. The bed creaked minutely beneath them, the springs wheezed under the pressure of their bodies…

After what seemed like hours, Fenris finally pictured a blank white space. Snake Eyes steered her away from thinking about the repressed memory, asking her to picture a place. Just a place. Somewhere safe, somewhere hers.

And she thought of the cabin her brother built. A slight pang of discomfort throbbed in her head, but she could see the cabin so clearly. She walked in from the blank space and shut the door behind her, feedback from Snake Eyes seemed to fall away. She was _home_. To her left was the living room with the huge windows looking out over the vast tundra of evergreen trees and wilted brown grass. The huge fireplace was crackling and throwing heat across the floor, under familiar dark couches and her favourite armchair. There was the kitchen on the right, dimly lit, and some shadowy figure was leaning against the countertop, a wispy hand waved at her. An echoing bark startled her for a second, a lithe smoky body weaved around her legs and then vanished through the door, paw prints tapped against the hardwood and then faded away.

Fenris gasped, the cabin blurred for a split second but she held onto the image of the staircase, of the little door tucked in beside it. She ignored the second level, something told her she didn't want to go up there yet, the wispy figure from the kitchen drifted up the stairs and was swallowed by the immense darkness.

She concentrated on the little door, on the raven motif hanging above it, the polished wooden floors propelling her forward to the door. It opened for her, another shadowy figure darted out and dashed up the stairs with the faintest giggle of excitement. A door slammed shut, someone was moaning pleasantly.

She concentrated on her brother's studio but it refused to lose its current arrangement; oh, it looked the same but the walls were much taller and just about all wall space was covered with large framed canvases. It reminded her of how pictures moved in Harry Potter, mostly black and white or sepia coloured, showing one scene on a constant loop. She saw, for example, an image of her brother jumping off the diving board and hitting the water only for him to suddenly be standing on the edge of the board again.

She didn't need that memory right now.

Fenris concentrated on one frame, watching the sepia bleed out in place of vibrant colour, the room disappeared and she standing in the cabin again but sound was muted. She looked outside and saw a storm, the trees shaking and the wind was howling, but she seemed almost too far away. Fenris turned around and saw Snake Eyes the night she met him, all cut up and determinedly grasping her past self's wrist.

Fenris eased herself out of that memory, the room returning with a rush of air. The frame rewound itself, the sepia colour dripped up from the floor and sunk back into the picture, freezing on Snake Eyes's face. She followed that line of frames, walking halfway across the room until she found the day when Storm Shadow took her, dragged her out of the house, threw her down…was there something there?

She melted into the frame, standing behind her past self and looked out a shape coming towards them. It looked like the boar for a second, but the longer she stared, the more it became clearer. It was larger, much larger, than the boar and white as snow. As it slowed in front of Storm Shadow, Fenris reached out gripped the coarse fibres of the image, the fog blew away.

A cybernetic red eye looked beyond her, the crown of the polar bear's head was coated in shiny metal that snaked all the way down its spine. Fenris heard her past self gasp and turned, Storm Shadow struck the back of her neck and hefted her onto the polar bear's back where she lost consciousness.

The cabin _shattered_. Like fine pieces of crystal, it splintered into large mirror-like shards that twisted in the air in slow motion, reflecting her memories back at her as distortions. There was a tank of water filled with greenish liquid and she was suddenly drowning, something was biting her feet. A snake weaved through the water and sunk its fangs into her foot.

Fenris opened her eyes and pitched herself into Snake Eyes's arms, coughing and shuddering as if someone dunked her head into ice cold water.

"Where's Storm Shadow?" she gasped, nearly throwing herself off the bed if Snake Eyes hadn't caught her.

She didn't give him time to sign anything, bolting off the bed and sliding over the paper, catching herself on the doorframe. She looked down at her foot, noting the faded holes, fang marks, that dotted her skin.

"He knows, Snake! He knows what those things are!" Fenris exclaimed, Snake Eyes climbed off the bed and followed her into the living room. "One of those robot animal things…he brought one with him when he caught me…he fucking _knows_."

Her head went fuzzy, her vision black, and she was leaning against Snake Eyes, one of his hands wrapped around her waist and the other clasped the back of her head. She couldn't breathe, there was water in her lungs all over again, why had Snake Eyes come for her? She didn't mean anything to him, he should've stayed away…

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Fenris hiccupped, steading herself and looking over her shoulder. There was Erebus, completely casual, somehow stealing into the room without a sound. Fenris removed herself from Snake Eyes, trying to retain some sense of dignity.

"Where's Storm Shadow?"

"Gone, got called back to the Arashikage compound. Said it couldn't wait." Erebus said offhandedly.

" _I'll call him."_

"Left that stuff behind, said it was top secret. He's gone silent, so have they." Erebus continued, walking past them and tossing his things into his own room.

" _Why? That doesn't make sense."_ Snake Eyes kept after him, glancing at Fenris as she sagged against the couch.

Erebus followed his gaze and walked back to Fenris, pushing her onto the couch and beginning to remove his shirt. a

"You haven't heard? Iga was attacked last night, some Arashikage ninja turned out to be Red Ninja."

* * *

After Erebus cleaned himself up and Fenris ate and took some aspirin for her headache, the three of them convened in the living room. Erebus said that his contact in Australia hadn't heard too many whispers regarding VIPER and that they were keeping some of the heat off him. In that time, Yoshida Hattori radioed in saying that a delegation of Arashikage ninja had arrived and started killing people left and right. Erebus wasn't able to help, but Jinx was in the area and put an end to the killing.

" _Cobra?"_ Snake Eyes questioned.

"Not likely, my contact says he's lying low – "

"But he's still alive." Fenris muttered. Erebus ruffled her head.

"Now, now, love. Cobra took a serious beating and he's still licking his wounds. Those Red Ninja are probably trying to stir some trouble up for Jinx, right? Relax," he threw his arm around Fenris and kissed the top of her head.

" _Well, we're glad you're back."_ Snake Eyes signed. _"Hungry?"_

"Nah, ate on the plane. I'm turning in for the night, see you kids tomorrow."

Erebus ruffled Fenris's hair again and strolled into his room without another thought. Fenris peered outside, sure sunlight was fading but she'd hardly call it nighttime. Snake Eyes shrugged, _jetlag_ he signed as explanation, Fenris thought _stress._ She went down the hall, pausing in front of Erebus's door as a light flickered on and then off, he called goodnight and she nodded in spite of the fact he couldn't see her. She backtracked into her room, picking up all the discarded papers and shoving them into her journal, hiding that under her mattress. As she walked back out, Snake Eyes had zipped into his room and was pulling on his suit.

" _Scarlet's called in backup, they've found another of VIPER's kill sites."_

* * *

It surprised Fenris that the flight from Hokkaido to Scarlet's location was so short.

A tiny island some leagues away from Okinawa thought not a part of Japan because it was so small, about the size of a football field. Snake Eyes and Fenris flew to Okinawa where they were picked up by a helicopter pilot that dropped them off on the island, promising to return in a few hours. They met Scarlet on the beach and she gave both of them a warning look, leading them to the centre of the island where a large blue tarp was pinned into the sand. Fenris silently applauded her decision to forgo eating on the trip because once the tarp was pulled away, her stomach twisted and heaved, bile collected in her mouth almost instantly.

It was an Iga ninja, the uniform was familiar; his mouth was wide open in a stretched scream of unheard agony, his eyes had been gouged out and left bloody tear tracks down his cheeks. All of his fingers had been broken, one of his legs had been twisted all the way around.

Snake Eyes kneeled down and shook his head, rigor mortis had sent in by now, that petrified expression wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. But Snake Eyes saw something else hidden under the body, something poking out from underneath the sands. He waved Scarlet over and she kneeled beside him, following his gaze to what looked like little stumps.

Together, Scarlet and Snake Eyes gently turned the body over and Fenris moaned, the tips of fingers jutted out from the sand. Snake Eyes started pooling the sand against his knees, drawing more and more out until more hands appeared almost as if they were meant to hold up the body of the Iga ninja. It certainly seemed that way, thin wooden stakes had been pushed through the palms of the hands and down into the shoulders of the five other corpse, forcing the arms up and keeping them straight.

Scarlet shivered in the night breeze, standing up and moving under the heat lamps as the forensics team took more photos. Fenris just stared down at the bodies.

"The Iga man been dead for a few days now," Scarlet murmured. "Who knows about the others…"

" _And you're sure VIPER is behind this?"_

"Same pattern of violence, they carved their name into the sand but its washed away by now, we took photos. Should we alert Hattori?"

" _Probably, Fenris and I will stop over before we return home. Fenris?"_

She had dropped onto the sand, dipping her hand into the hole and gritting her teeth. Snake Eyes moved back towards her and sat down, watching her fingers painstaking pinch at something inside of the corpses' mouths.

"It's just like Operation," she muttered, biting her lip as she slowly withdrew a long silvery object.

" _What is it?"_

"Two things," she managed weakly, holding the object in her palm. "There are nibble marks all over these guys…"

Lying in her palm was something that looked like a miniature eel but its body was covered with metal. Snake Eyes took the creature and passed it on to Scarlet.

"Maybe they thought it'd be cute to leave that behind for us to find." Scarlet murmured, slightly perturbed.

Fenris shrugged and picked herself off the sand, wandering over towards the water to wash her hands and spit. Snake Eyes hovered uneasily behind her.

" _What was the other thing?"_

"Erebus said Iga was attacked by Red Ninja last night, so how does VIPER get their hands on that corpse?"

Snake Eyes looked off to the side. _"Erebus_ was _acting strange."_

Fenris made a face and flagged Scarlet down. "We need to get back."

* * *

When they returned to the dojo, the ground was covered with footprints Fenris and Snake Eyes had not left behind. The ninja unsheathed his swords and took point, Fenris sliding in behind him as he ran for the door. He burst through the front door, shoving the overturned couch aside and running down the hallway. Fenris took the outside perimeter, noticing how a spray of blood fell down from Erebus's open window. She pulled herself up into the room as Snake Eyes broke his door down. Erebus lay on his side, thankfully with both eyes intact and open, a nasty gash curved up from his hip and over his stomach. He looked up at them both with a weak smile, shaking off their concern, and gesturing out the window.

"They're still nearby, go, I'll be fine." He croaked.

"You're bleeding everywhere." Fenris hissed, jumping down and probing the wound.

Erebus batted her hands away, crawling towards the wall and grabbing a shirt to stop the bleeding.

"I've had worse, you know that. Go after that bitch, I'll stay here and…stitch myself up." He huffed. "Snake Eyes, I'll be fine. I survived losing an arm, didn't I?"

" _We won't be long, hang in there."_

Snake Eyes squeezed Erebus's shoulder, letting Fenris climb out of the window first and following swiftly after her. At least Erebus got a nice shot in, fresh blood still marked the path his attacker took. The two of the them cut through the trees, flying over the large roots arching up from the earth. Catching sight of a bright orange light in the darkness, Fenris picked up speed and barreled into someone lurking behind a tree.

Yelping as the two of them rolled down a hill, Fenris grabbed one end of Gleipnir and plunged it into the person's shoulder. A distinctly feminine voice cried out and Fenris took a punch to the face. Seconds later, Snake Eyes pulled the woman off and pinned her arms behind her back. Fenris picked up the flashlight the woman had dropped and shined it in her face. A head of vibrantly pink hair caught her off guard, along with the bubbly laugher coming out of her mouth.

"Ooh, that hurt," she whined. "But it was worth it."

Fenris touched her cheek gingerly and grimaced, knowing it would bloom into a lovely purple splotch tomorrow morning.

"Yeah well, at least I stabbed you."

"Not my partner though."

Fenris whipped her head from side to side but the other attacker surprised them all by dropping down from the canopy, landing behind Snake Eyes with a wire that she looped around his neck. His released the pink-haired woman who lunged at Fenris, knocking her backwards and pinning her to the ground. The woman sneered, leaning into Fenris's face.

"I like your hair, sweetie." Her breath stunk. "Your boyfriend colour it for you?"

"Yep," Fenris wheezed, bucking her hips.

This woman was roughly her size and obviously not well versed in wrestling or else she didn't expect a fight. Fenris rolled on top of the woman, still fighting to get her wrists free; one of the blades of Gleipnir dangled at her waist. Fenris growled, pulling one of the woman's arms up and biting into it. It felt somewhat satisfying as she screeched; Fenris grabbed her blade and sliced into the woman's other arm, blindly. She got up and backed away as the pinkette howled in pain, immediately turning back towards Snake Eyes.

The little spider monkey glued to his back had twisted the wire around his neck, Snake Eyes had grabbed her wrists and prevented her from tightening the string. Fenris ran behind and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, biting into girl's shoulder and forcing her to let go. She did, and for a split second Fenris remembered that each of VIPER''s victims had their eyes gouged out. Fenris let go, grabbing her blades and blocking a kick. The girl hissed and spun away, pulling the pinkette away with snarl.

"Well, you aren't pushovers, I should be happy for the challenge." The younger one growled. "We'd love to stay but you have other issues right now."

On cue, Snake Eyes's dojo burst into flames with a momentous roar.

Fenris felt the weight of the flames heat on her back, unsure of whether to follow the women as they retreated or go after Erebus. Snake Eyes didn't seem to have a clue either, standing there as the flames licked away at the twinkling starlight.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX: Almost There**

Blowing up the dojo hadn't been her original plan but witnessing the stunned expressions of her enemies was surprisingly worth it; of course, Snake Eyes couldn't emote well with the mask but Zanya saw the urgency in his body as he pitched himself into the flames after Erebus. Fenris was even more interesting, her indecision leaving her staring stupidly at Zanya and Zarana's retreat, her face caught between terror and anger. In fact, Zanya was more interested in Fenris than Snake Eyes because Snake Eyes was already so well known to Cobra. Fenris was…fresh, green. Way too green. But the firelight made the burn marks on her face so astoundingly radiant, Zanya wondered if the woman was afraid of the fire.

Zanya laughed as loudly as she could over the roar of the flames, triggering Fenris into following after Snake Eyes with a terrible wild cry of Erebus's name.

It was almost as satisfying as the torture of the Iga ninja, watching him endure the snapping of each of his fingers before she shoved a drill into his urethra, the blood spraying out a dizzying mist. She knew the two of them hand seen her handiwork but they likely didn't know the extent, how she took the Iga nin's eyeballs and cut them into perfect little slices, treating the five other men to a last meal before she buried them in the sand, weights tied to their feet as she manually inserted the stakes into their arms. The flesh eating fish had been her idea as well as water from the sea poured into the hole, after the men were thoroughly drowned she covered up the hole, depositing the Iga ninja onto his funeral pyre and leaving.

Red Ninja awaited them outside the forest, taking Zarana from her and cleansing her wounds as they were driven to their extraction point. The whole while, Zanya was grinning. Meeting her enemies in combat had been a thrill even if it was short lived, but she was playing a longer game. It wouldn't take years but maybe another month, another month of menial interaction before she attacked again. From the secret dojo, they might even flee to the Iga compound or else hide somewhere else until drawn out. The same Iga ninja she killed had supplied her with a few other of Snake Eyes's hidden dojo's, her mind was already turning with new ideas.

A small jet awaited them in a nondescript patch of gravel, and they flew up into the air with little resistance. The flight wasn't long and Zanya was plenty entertained with the new cargo enshrined at the back of the jet.

Storm Shadow looked positively _murderous_ even when heavily sedated, like an old tiger waiting for his prey. His cold black eyes were glazed over but he always knew exactly were Zanya was, his head slowly tracing her every movement. He'd been bound with coarse rope and a few heavy chains for safety's sake, a roll of duct tape kept his jaw firmly shut and Zarana had thought herself awfully cute by shoving a large jawbreaker in his mouth before the tape went on. Zanya sighed happily, wondering if maybe his jaw would lock because of the abnormally large object stuck in it.

Back at base, the Red Ninja strapped Storm Shadow to a gurney and wheeled him into his private room until his appointment came up. Zanya played with the thought of postponing it as she entered her room.

Another five had been collected, all bound to different chairs and hooded for the optimal amount of stimulation. At least one woman had wet herself in Zanya's absence, the other's sobs were muffled, and the three men were all collectively giving her the silent treatment. Zanya locked the door behind her, thankful that Zarana's annoying presence wasn't polluting her aura of intimidation, but at least one of her captives remained unwaveringly courageous.

…perhaps stupid was still the better word.

She walked to the middle chair and yanked the hood off one of the men, instantly scowling at a pair of laughing crimson eyes.

Erebus, though his mouth was shut with an impressive panel gag, had the most obvious shit-eating grin Zanya had ever seen him wear. He was absolutely unapologetic in the way he enjoyed Zanya toying with him, almost encouraging her idea of removing his other arm. Zanya, though she secretly _wanted_ to further disarm him, refused giving in to his subtle control over her.

She did, as a younger girl, fancy him.

Zanya was his link to Australia, his link to Zartan.

And he squandered his chances thoroughly in the end for any more information.

"You had to know I was behind it all," she said, sitting on his lap. "You couldn't have been stupid enough to assume I'd actually wanted my father dead."

Erebus shrugged smugly, rubbing his thighs together and leaning back in his seat.

"Have you no shame? I'm underage."

He furrowed his brows and cocked his side to one side – _Really? You think I'm into you?"_

Zanya growled, fisting one of her hands in his long hair and yanking his head backwards.

"Oh, you are _such_ an asshole, Erebus. But here's some juicy information for you: I got Storm Shadow."

Erebus huffed – _As if._

"I do though, regardless of what you think. Maybe I show him in later, let him see what we've been up to. Blew up the dojo too."

 _That_ got his attention, Erebus growled and Zanya put a hand on his chest.

"I didn't kill your little friends, darling. You'll be happy to know _Fenris_ got two really good hits on Zarana, she'll be unable to attend our little sessions."

Erebus might've laughed but the sound didn't translate well through the gag. Zanya sighed and released him, sliding off his lap and strolling around the rest of the captives, Erebus followed her movements closely.

"Either way, I'm pretty happy. Two down, two to go, and all that." She stretched her arms above her head. "But I'm still completely awake so we should have some fun, you know?"

Zanya sauntered over to one of the women, pulling the hood off her face and walking behind her. Erebus watched, what else was he to do. Zanya wrapped her hands around the woman's neck with a bored look on her face, gritting her teeth and as the woman thrashed and choked. Zanya venomous green eyes sidled over, latching onto Erebus's face as the woman's face grew blue. She smiled, squeezing harder until her fingernails pierced flesh, Zanya flesh the woman's heartbeat futilely and sporadically pumping blood.

Erebus's chest was heaving, his lone arm shaking against the ropes binding it to the back of the chair. Zanya gave one last final squeeze and then grabbed the woman's head, snapping her head and letting her head fall against her chest. The other woman moaned and Zanya hushed her softly, pulling off the hood and leaning far too closely into the woman's face.

"You're Jackie," Zanya said, the woman sobbed and shut her eyes. "It says so on your ID card."

"Let's pretend I'm Jill, OK?" Zanya suggested, placing her hands on either side of Jackie's face.

Jackie knew what was coming, she'd seen it done before.

"How does that old rhyme go again? _Jack fell down and broke his crown?_ They say that the "crown" is actually Jack's head. How terribly morbid."

Jackie screamed.

* * *

The Red Ninja left with four bodies the next morning as another four were placed in Zanya's room. She watched them come and go while observing Erebus's lax position, his head hanging over his chest and his hair shielding his face. She thought about cutting all his hair off but she admired its length and enjoyed using it as reins whenever he was particularly rude. He always reverted into this catatonic stage after she killed off her victims, he'd shake himself out of it in a few minutes and would return to the same arrogant bastard defiling her for the past week or two. It felt like so much longer, maybe she'd invite Storm Shadow today after dealing with the new batch of playmates.

When Erebus did raise his head, Zanya started. His eyes were almost seeing through her, and in that moment Zanya could've swore she slipped out some important information because he started laughing. His shoulders were shaking and his cheeks puckered as if he was smiling. Zanya couldn't move, couldn't _breathe_ , and then she shot one of the four men six times until Erebus stopped. He was angry then but the laughter in his eyes hadn't stopped; she had to know, she had to.

Zanya stormed over and unbuckled the clasp behind his head, letting the gag fall into his laugh as he chuckled dryly. She grabbed his bangs and yanked his head up.

" _What_?" She spat. "What did I do?"

"Thought you worked alone, Z, or does Cobra pay his peons that well?"

She could've clawed his eyes out but instead, she let him go and grabbed another man by the head, plunging her thumbs into his eye sockets as he screamed and thrashed. The last one, perceiving what was going on, slumped forward and waited for his turn but Zanya never came at him. She returned to Erebus, thumbs wet, and strapped the gag back on, spitting in his face with a hiss. She pulled the last man's hood off and then abruptly left, allowing him to take in the bloodied room and the two dead man stuck with him.

Zanya fumed all the way outside, shivering and screaming as she paced back and forth. Her guard, the cyber wolf as she called it, watched plainly and honestly from its place near the entrance. It wasn't programmed to respond to its master's emotional distress and Zanya was felt torn about that; on one hand she knew she'd tear the beast a part if it offered comfort, but she also knew she wouldn't mind a little hug or encouragement. Zarana wasn't good for those and Zandar was marginally better but he wasn't here right now and she couldn't contact him for this of all things.

She needed to hurry things along, playing fetch for Cobra while being babysat by his ninja was not something she wanted for the long term. She needed to make a little more noise, cause a little more trouble. Waiting was a fool's game.

She stormed back into the compound and instruct the ninja to bring Storm Shadow to her room for the evening, she escaped into her actual bedroom and sent a quick message to her uncle. The cyber wolf trailed obediently behind her as she checked on Zarana who with the help of a regrowth serum was healing nicely from her injuries. They could go out again soon, after the newest batch of breadcrumbs were distributed.

Soon, soon.

She was almost there, the job was almost complete, and she would be able to do what ever she wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN: Dangerous Game**

They found Erebus at the base of a large tree, half of the gash had been sewn up and he was in remarkable spirits, his eyes alight and dangerous. He promised he'd be travel ready within an hour but Snake Eyes wasn't paying much attention to him, focusing on the charred remains of the house he built. There was no way _anyone_ should have found them here, no way. He and Fenris hadn't been gone too long, they were always careful when coming and going from the house so no one _could_ find them. Naturally, Snake Eyes did suspect Erebus gave away the location of this one, something had gone wrong during his trip to Australia but even the ninja couldn't figure out what.

But why sell them out? Snake Eyes didn't understand it; he made a note to ask when they reached the Iga compound to compare notes.

Meanwhile Fenris leaned over Erebus, not really watching him and not really looking at the dojo. Her mind was wired, the memories of those cyber animals were still fresh and she needed an honest answer from Storm Shadow as to why he had never said anything. She wanted to move now, not later, and though Erebus was quick in his needle work, the urgency was driving her mad. The fact that Erebus might've lied about the attack on Iga barely registered, she kept thinking about the boar and the bear and kept wondering why Storm Shadow had hidden something so important, even from Snake Eyes!

"Hey, you alright there?" Erebus asked, tying a knot at the end of his stitch.

"Fine," she mumbled, half listening. "We should go now."

"Well, I'm ready. Help me up."

Fenris ambled over and pulled Erebus up, shivering as something glided past her waist. She turned and looked at Snake Eyes but he was too far away, and the goofy grin on Erebus's face made her more unnerved than angry. Phantom limb? No, only the owner would feel sensations like that, right?

"You sure you're OK, didn't hurt you too bad did they?" his hand fell on her cheek and Fenris backed away, still distracted and weary.

"Nope. Stabbed and bit her." She replied nonchalantly.

Erebus, for a second, looked both enraged and pleased, his grin twisting a little too much for her tastes. But then he clapped her shoulder and fell in step with Snake Eyes as he finally moved away from the damaged house. Snake Eyes already sent a message to Scarlet about what happened; a team would show up in the next couple of days and dismantle the remains. They wouldn't be returning to this site again.

Nor would they return to about nine other locations across the planet, according to Scarlet. Nine other identical dojos had been burnt to the ground with a single dead person inside, eyes missing and beaten with VIPER carved onto their chests.

Snake Eyes felt like a geyser, all of his rage was bubbling up just underneath the surface of his skin and now all he needed was the right trigger that would unleash his power tenfold.

The flight to Iga was done in complete and utter silence; Fenris was fuming over Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes was fuming over just about everything, Erebus seemed totally oblivious in comparison as he sat between them.

Iga wasn't in complete shambles when they arrived but Jinx looked just about ready to mow down anyone who even looked at her funny; her long black hair was falling out of its elaborate bun and new scars marked her face. She sighed gratefully when Snake Eyes sat down beside her and pushed her head onto his shoulder, she even looked pleased as Fenris hovered beside her.

"How bad?" she asked, staring around the compound.

"Could have been worse but Hattori and I managed to drive them off." Jinx stated tired but proudly.

"And Storm Shadow?" Fenris muttered, her tone dark.

Jinx blinked. She looked between all three of her visitors and raised an eyebrow.

"I assumed he was with you?"

Snake Eyes felt his temperature rising and glared at Erebus. Even when masked, anyone was made painfully aware of the ninja's powerful stare, Erebus shrugged.

"Hey, he told me he was coming down here. He didn't stay long so I could interrogate him, Snake Eyes." Erebus defended.

"Then where has he gone?"

"We don't know, Jinx. We have reason to suspect he might know more about VIPER than what he's letting on." Fenris supplied, giving Snake Eyes an apologetic look. "The dojo in Hokkaido was burned down, can you direct us to Hattori, we need a night to recover."

Jinx nodded, putting her fingers to her lips and whistling. Two Arashikage ninja materialized out of nowhere and Fenris left with them for Hattori's study. Snake Eyes flagged another ninja down to examine Erebus but he stoutly refused, promising he'd redo the stitches once their lodgings were secured. Snake Eyes stayed with Jinx, helping gather the dead and identify them, most of their bodies were severely burned.

The buildings weren't badly hit but the roofs needed some work and a few pillars were broken, if Snake Eyes and his team could stay for the repairs, they'd do their best to help out. Jinx shook her head.

"Your mission is more important and the Iga ninja are not so weak that they require outside help to patch roofs. The Red Ninja were led by a girl with green dreads, and I do mean girl, Master. She is not more than seventeen years old."

" _I know, I fought with her."_ He gestured to thin gash around his entire neck where the leather had been cut away. He was lucky it was so tough or else he might've lost his head.

"Does she lead VIPER?"

" _I suspect so, there was another with pink hair but she didn't seem like the one in charge."_

"Ah. That one is responsible for most of the damage, she blew up anyone that got near her."

Jinx narrowed her eyes as the bodies of the Red Ninja were gathered up and burned, the stench of burning flesh polluting the crisp night air. No Red Ninja survived the massacre; they either died on the blade of their enemies or their own. She couldn't bring herself to admire their honour, not when they allied themselves with honourless people.

A few of Red Ninja found their way into civilian district. Funerals for the helpless slain would be held first.

Jinx ran a hand down her face as Fenris walked towards them, still accompanied by the Arashikage, who of whom held her shoulder. Snake Eyes was at her side in a moment, catching Fenris as she sagged with a hand on her head.

"Too much excitement?" she wondered with a humourless laugh. "Hattori says the baths are open to us, I need to cool down."

" _Our rooms?"_

"Same as last time." Fenris mumbled, standing back up and shaking her head. "Anyone want to join me?"

Jinx grinned. "Maybe another time, I will see you both in the morning before I leave."

"How early are we talking here?" Fenris asked, already peeling the upper part of her suit off.

"Early." Jinx smiled.

"Well, I'd better hurry up, I need all the sleep I can get or else I might hurt you tomorrow morning."

The two Arashikage ninja looked at each other and then at Fenris who snorted.

"I'm joking, really. She can probably kick my ass."

"Definitely," Jinx agreed. "Good night, Fenris."

"Yeah. Good night."

* * *

Fenris spent a little while in the hot springs as the water unlocked the knots in her back. Her head was killing her and she wondered if it wouldn't be too much for some aspirin or funky herbal remedies for the pain. She slipped into a grey kimono with a white sash and slid along the floor towards her room. Snake Eyes was likely still with Jinx going over strategies or something like that.

The odor of burning flesh was still permeating through the compound but someone had started lighting incense and jasmine candles, the conflicting scents wreaking havoc on Fenris's brain. Looking into her own room with Erebus and Snake Eyes, no lights or candles had been lit but a blue flickering light made funny shadows on the paper door. Someone was sitting inside at the far end of the room, their shadow shrunken and somewhat dimmer. Fenris stepped inside regardless, she still had Gleipnir slung over her shoulder; she shut the door and walked over to her cot as the moonlight illuminated the room.

That was not Erebus.

For a second, it was.

But then his image flickered and Fenris was staring at a face she'd never seen before; pale red hair, dark eyes, facial tattoos.

Her body tensed for a fight but all of a sudden, her vision swam. She tipped backwards and the man sprung up and grabbed her wrist, yanking Fenris further into the room. There was something in the air, something barely perceptible but it made her incredibly dizzy. Gleipnir slipped off her shoulder, she fumbled for one of the blades and awkwardly, blindly, swiped at his face. Her fingers gave way, the weapon dropped from her hand into his and he swung her around, one hand clamping over her mouth as the other held the blade over her neck.

The strange aroma went out, a thin glimmer of smoke twisted up into the air as the man lifted Fenris clean off the ground, refusing to let go of her as she vainly kicked at his legs. He chuckled in her ear.

"Easy now, love, we don't need you slicing your neck open."

Her heel slammed into his knee and the man hissed.

"I _will_ break your jaw if you keep squirming." He threatened. "Quit moving, and I'll drop it."

Fenris growled something fierce, whining as the man's hand over her mouth pinched into her cheeks. She nodded fervidly and the man tossed Gleipnir onto a pile of clothes, muffling the sound of it hitting the ground. She made to lift her arms but his other arm quickly snaked across her stomach and pinned them both down. Fenris kicked at him again, groaning as he forced the two of them to sit down, his legs crossing themselves over hers.

"Now, I'm going to tell you how things work out from here, mate." the man whispered in her ear, Fenris whined and lurched away from him.

"You're not going to tell good old Snake Eyes about this, first of all." He instructed, his grip around her tightening.

"You are going to do your very best to defend me because I know he suspects I had a hand in things. But for now, I don't, get it?"

Fenris growled but nodded, wondering if it would be worth biting his hand.

"Second, I know exactly where Storm Shadow and Erebus are. If you do anything funny, I'll let my people do just about _anything_ to those two."

A group of shadows passed by the door, Fenris squealed and banged her foot against the floor. The figures paused distractedly but then shook their heads, moving onward. The man coiled around her like a python, his elbow digging into her diaphragm, his legs crushing her own. They could hear another pair of people coming towards them, Fenris recognized Jinx as one of them, and the man sighed.

"Of course, you rat on me and I'll just kill Snake Eyes and blow up the rest of this compound. Play nice, kid."

All at once the man pushed Fenris away as Snake Eyes entered the room, the man had already masked himself as Erebus and was calmly crawling into bed. Fenris avoided Snake Eyes's eyes as she too moved onto her cot but Snake Eyes wasn't sleepy.

" _Did you tell them where the dojo was?"_

"No, I didn't." The fake Erebus smirked. "I'm not a traitor."

" _Then how did they know?"_

"Maybe that Iga nin on the island told them, he looked b-battered enough." Fenris choked, coughing into her pillow. "

Snake Eyes gave her a quick glance; she still didn't look up at him.

"Yeah, see, she agrees with me. I didn't rat us out, Snake.

" _And Storm Shadow?"_

"I told you, we didn't have long to talk. All I know is that Iga was attacked by Red Ninja and aside from Cobra, they are loyal to Storm Shadow."

Snake Eyes sighed and moved onto his cot, shaking Fenris's shoulder until she looked up at him. He pulled off his mask and Fenris felt such an urge to cover it up, but stopped herself, seeing the fake Erebus smirk as he rolled onto his side.

" _What do you think?"_

"I say we believe him. Erebus has nothing to gain from betraying us." Fenris replied robotically, massaging her temples. "Can we do this tomorrow, I'm tired."

" _Headache?"_

"It's gone, actually."

"See? Told you it would help." Fake Erebus grinned.

Fenris glared at him and chuckled a pillow at his head, growling as he laughed with a voice that wasn't his.

* * *

 **Whoops, sorry for the inactively here, I've been studying for exams for most of this month.**

 **A big thank you to everyone who's been reading thus far, I'll try to stay on track with updating - I only have one more exam to go and then a new semester but things will get back on track!**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Den of the Chameleons**

How Fenris fell asleep that night was anyone's guess, and she felt no shame the following morning when it was found that she had curled up right next to Snake Eyes with her arms wound around one of his own. Snake Eyes was only half awake when Erebus laughed at the pair of them, and that sound alone woke Fenris right up. Snake Eyes roused himself awake, turning his head to the head and staring confusedly at Fenris who buried her face in his side. Erebus gave out a short bark of laughter as he passed them and left the room, only then did Fenris reluctantly release her death grip on him.

" _Nightmare?"_ he asked, sitting up.

"In more than one way," she grumbled vaguely in response, rising up with him.

Snake Eyes raised an eyebrow curiously but Fenris waved him off as she thrust out one of her feet, glaring at two nearly healed marks and flicking her foot in Snake Eyes's direction.

"What do those look like to you?"

Snake Eyes inched closer, rubbing his thumbs over the marks.

" _Snake bites…"_ he signed thoughtfully, making Fenris smile.

"I don't remember snakes hanging around near my old place, it had to have happened at the old Arashikage base."

" _Are you sure you want to go back there?"_

"It'll trigger something, I know it." Fenris said determinedly, grabbing a handful of her clothing and Gleipnir. "I'll get cleaned up, you figure out the best way to get there… _with or without Erebus._ "

Snake Eyes watched Fenris leave the room with a dark look on her face, rising and almost following her out when his toe nudged something out from under a pile of Erebus's clothes. He bent down and picked up a small candle, moving it quickly between his hands until a warm scent numbed his senses. Snake Eyes fisted the candle and dressed quickly, nearly running out of the room in search of Erebus.

And Erebus was not hard to find, he examining the damage done by VIPER with an appreciative gaze until Snake Eyes showed up; his face suddenly went blank.

"What's up Snake?" Snake Eyes grabbed Erebus and threw him against a cracked pillar.

" _What's this?"_ Snake Eyes asked, signing with one hand. Erebus actually looked puzzled.

"Slow down a bit, didn't catch that."

Snake Eyes shoved the candle in his face, Erebus rolled his eyes.

"Helps me mediate," he answered, shoving Snake Eyes off him.

" _Since when?" S_ nake Eyes probed invasively.

"Since whenever I damn well please, you aren't my mother." he snapped angrily, pushing Snake Eyes's shoulder. " _Fenris_ didn't seem to mind."

Erebus had a confident smirk then but it lasted maybe a second before Snake Eyes punched him off his feet. The ninja threw the candle into the dense forest surrounding the compound and stalked away, probably for a bath.

The candle was made from several herbs that induced heavy slumber, too much could kill and a little could at least daze someone long enough for -

* * *

Fenris knew the hot springs here were unisex. She knew but she was still surprised when Snake Eyes padded into the enclosure with a towel wrapped around his waist. Fenris sunk deeper into the steamy waters, holding her breath and squeezing her eyes shut as the water ahead of her splashed. She cracked one eye open and found Snake Eyes had sat down, his eyes locked on her face. Fenris didn't want to move, hoping maybe he was just angrily staring into space, but when she sunk lower into the water again eyes were still on her. He raised a hand and waved, trying to mask the irritation on his face before he beckoned her over.

"Something happen?" she queried softly, hoping he wouldn't answer.

He glided through the water and swam up right beside her, keeping an appropriate distance away from her as she crossed her arms over her chest. Snake Eyes didn't face her right away, peering through the thick mist for a few moments until he started signing.

" _What happened with Erebus last night."_

The lack of a question mark made her uncomfortable, his blue eyes were eerily dark.

 _You rat on me and I'll just kill Snake Eyes and blow up the rest of this compound._

Fenris swallowed, wondering how quickly she could escape from this situation. She shut her eyes and bit her lip, trying to formulate an answer without overstepping fake Erebus's bounds. But he wasn't here, was he? She could tell Snake Eyes and then everything would sort itself out. As if on cue, a window in the compound opened and someone with very long black hair leaned out and sighed. Fenris hissed.

She opened her eyes and made very deliberate head turns, trying to convey that they were being watched. The person retreated back into the window and shut it, it wouldn't take very long for them to come down into the springs.

Snake Eyes shuffled closer, his fingertips hidden underwater and grazing her side. Fenris squeaked and sent him a heated look, dipping lower into the water and searching out his knee.

"Nothing happened, he helped my headache." She forced herself to growl out.

 _Not Erebus. VIPER._

Snake Eyes raised his hands out of the water and mock defense. _"I thought the two of you…"_

Fenris gaped, shoving him backwards and splashing him thoroughly as the door ahead of them creaked open.

"I can't even… _no_ … _ew_. Gods, Snake, he was being a jerk; you know he does this just to spite you, right?"

She put her hands back into the water, finding his knee again.

 _Storm and Erebus captured. Faker watching me, probably. Made threats._

Snake Eyes tensed a little bit but he let out a breath of relief, his smile easy as he patted her shoulder.

" _Good."_

"Good?" she parroted back, watching as he stood up out of the water.

She politely averted her eyes as he retrieved his towel, staring around for the one she had left behind. Someone had probably dropped by and picked it up for her, Snake Eyes moved into the room just as the faker walked out of it. Snake Eyes signed something like an apology before moving into the compound.

Fenris was already slithering along the floor of the springs when the faker grabbed her shoulders and hoisted her up. Fenris covered what dignity she had and glared at him.

"Does he know anything?"

"You were watching us, what do you think?" she snapped.

His grip tightened. Fenris scowled.

"Good girl." He released her somewhat unwillingly as Snake Eyes reappeared with her towel, she latched onto Snake Eyes's offered hand and pulled herself out of the water. She wrapped the towel around her body and tensed as the faker whistled.

"Nice ass, kid."

"Go fuck yourself, mate."

* * *

Regrettably, the faker _was_ coming with them to the old Arashikage base Fenris had been kept in two years ago; there was no real way to prevent him from coming along and with Snake Eyes aware of the situation, Fenris wasn't nearly as paranoid. It didn't make the trek up the mountain any less stressful, at least Snake Eyes served as the buffer between them.

It was odd to see the place again; she had no memory of entering the base and her memories of the rescue were plagued with hysterics on her part. The base was old city built out of the rock, a secret passageway led into an extensive tunnel system and large bay where troops could be trained and machines built.

Fenris led the way inside after Snake Eyes and the faker broke out the fake wall, hoping something might trigger a memory.

A few lights were still on, blinking off and on, and the metal platforms squealed under the pressure of the three bodies walking over them. The air was clear though, the ventilation system still operational, and most everything looked rather clean. No dust, really, just battered pieces of equipment. There was an uncomfortable metallic smell in the air, the faker said it was probably rust, but Fenris couldn't buy that.

Fenris recognized the two large glass doors in broken shards, tiptoeing into the room and gasping. A flash – _a_ _stream of electricity shot up and down her spine in nauseating waves._

There was a metal circlet welded into the wall, a loop of chains hung off it and the wall was dark with old blood.

Snake Eyes placed one of his hands into hers and squeezed, Fenris shook her head and turned towards the shadowy corridor she'd once ran down. The open chamber was empty, there was still a large circular examination table in the centre and old shells where large glass tubes used to rest. Fenris had difficultly breathing, remembering being submerged in water with tiny little –

"Cages used to be here." She said suddenly.

" _Cages?"_

"For the animals. Storm Shadow said Cobra had been working on these for some time, and when I think about it, a whole bunch of animals began disappearing off my brother's property for a year or so. He'd been _planning_ this, just…waiting for the right moment to – "

"Indeed he was, love."

Snake Eyes and Fenris whipped around at the sound of the voice; Fenris growled at the faker unmasked, retrieving her blades and sinking into a stance. Snake Eyes pulled out his swords and the man started laughing. A door above them opened and the girl with green dreads slowly moved down a set of stairs with languid grace. She reminded Fenris of a panther on the prowl, silent and deadly beautiful.

"We're so glad you could make it; I wasn't expecting our little game to end so soon though." The girl said.

From the tunnel, the pink haired woman appeared and leaned against the man. Fenris could see now that they were twins.

"So who wins?" Fenris wondered, keeping her eyes on the man.

"We'll have to wait and see."

The girl surged forward and latched onto Snake Eyes, sending him tumbling backwards into the wall as her body wrapped around him. Fenris hissed, dropping her blades and pulling on the chains, swinging them around and keeping the twins as far back as she could. The man pulls out two serrated knives and the woman has what looks like grenades in her hands, Fenris groans and swings one blade at the man, he ducks and it flies over his head.

"I hope you're not too broken up about this, love."

"Call me that again and I'll aim for your balls next." She retracts the chain, catching the blade and runs at him, swiping down his chest and leaping backwards as a bomb flies at her.

The explosion blinds her but she can still hear the man's heavy footsteps running towards her. She swings the other chain out, hissing when he most certainly catches it, cursing when he yanks her forward. He spins the chain around her, an arm around her waist and picks her off the floor only to slam her down on the examination table. Her vision blackens again and she suddenly aware of something sitting across her waist, the female twin straddles her and pins her arms above her head.

"I'm going to pay you back for that stunt you pulled at the dojo."

"What, should I have warned you first?" Fenris quips, instantly regretting it as Zarana shakes a pendant out from around her chest.

It's a firefly and she sticks her tongue into the head of it, making its abdomen glow. Fenris growls, kicking her legs madly as Zarana sticks the glowing end right into Fenris's cheek. The smell of burning flesh is all too familiar, Fenris reacts instinctually and clamps her teeth around the woman's ear. Her mouth is full of ear piercings, and her ears fill with the sound of Zarana's screams, but she does not let go.

Meanwhile Snake Eyes wrestles the girl only for the man to tackle him against the wall. Snake Eyes growls, he dropped his swords when the girl constricted around him like a python, and now she holds them with an almost childlike curiously. She stabs one through one of the Snake's hand, forcing it against the wall. She looks a little sad when he doesn't scream. The man grabs Snake Eyes's other hand and forces it up, the girl impales it with the other sword and nods.

"That was easy," she says, and then they hear the female twin scream bloody murder.

The male twin whips around as his twin barrels into him absolutely hysterical, Fenris sits on the examination with the woman's ear in her mouth. She spits it out and growls. Snake Eyes is almost proud, using the distraction to pull his hands free and boot his enemies away. The girl goes after Fenris; Snake Eyes returns to fighting the man as the woman dashes away.

"That was very mean of you, Fenris." Says the girl. "I like it."

"Good for you," Fenris hisses, spitting blood into her face.

The girl giggles and ducks, punching Fenris's stomach and twisting her fist up into the older girl ribs. Fenris wheezes, leaning over the girl and clamping down on the girl's shoulder. She drops her blades, ramming the girl against the table and pinning her arms down as best she can, blinking her eyes open as the smoke finally clear from them.

"I get the codename now, you do it justice. I'm Zanya."

Fenris stops biting and leans away, head-butting Zanya.

"Nice to meet you too."

"STOP!"

Zanya, while dazed, looks up at the door she previously entered through with a sudden glare. There's Zarana, ear bleeding spectacularly, while an arm around Erebus's neck.

Fenris starts towards the stairs but the pinkette screams again, gesturing wildly towards the tunnel. Snake Eyes stares at a Red Ninja dragged a tired looking Storm Shadow behind him.

"ANYBODY MOVES, AND THEY DIE!"

"Zarana, you idiot, we had them." Zanya groans, stepping beside Fenris as if they weren't just trying to kill each other.

"CAN IT PRINCESS. ZANDAR!"

Zandar looks from his twin to Snake Eyes then shrugs, cracking the ninja across the jaw. Fenris meets Zanya's eyes anticipating the hit. Zanya smiles.

"I win."

* * *

 **Thought I'd upload again to make up for the lack of updates. Surprise!**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is about as mature as it gets with an actual fucking sex scene (pun intended), because apparently all M rated fics here need one.**

 **There's your warning and hetero sex is weird. Really, really weird.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE: Cracked**

Two years ago, my future looked something out of one of those postcards about the Great White Canadian North; a quaint little cabin in the middle of nowhere, ribbons of the bright green Aurora Borealis tumbling across the starry sky, a tiny outdoor fire pit with vague figures enjoying beers and roasted marshmallows. Mom would come up to visit for the holidays, maybe my brother would adopt a kid, perhaps his paintings might give him well-deserved media attention and fame. It would snow for half the year and then rain, rain, rain, until two months of blistering heat.

Two years ago, I would've been waking up to crisp cold air and vast tundra where the only neighbours around were occasional wolf packs and prospectors. I would've been happy. I would've been safe.

* * *

Fenris _was_ awake. In a sense.

She could wiggle her fingers, she could scrunch her toes, and she could generally twitch and wriggle like a paralysed worm on a hook.

The main issue was determining if she was on the ground or somehow suspended in air, her stomach was twisting itself into knots like an agitated snake but that could because of a few days without food or water. The darkness she thought she woke to was the kind that wrapped around her head in such a fashion that her eyes could _not_ open, and every limb was strapped down, bolted down. There was no sound or movement of air, just the stench of her own sweat because the straitjacket made her body so hot, beads of sweat trickled down her bare cheeks.

Sometimes, she could've sworn there was someone else in the room with her; whether it was Zanya or the whispering shadows, she wasn't sure. They kept moaning and crying, gunshots rang out in the air, there was someone laughing. Always laughing in distorted, stretched tones.

Was this insanity?

Maybe, the shadows answered. Always shadows. Just shadows.

Right?

…right?

* * *

Despite a perpetual darkness, Fenris could've sworn the shadows had their own shape and shade. She could see them weaving indiscriminately in front of her eyelids like plumes of cigarette smoke, her nose twitched at the scents she couldn't smell. And they moved through her, piercing her lungs with flaky tendrils and long perverse tongues growing fireflies that clung to her cheeks. It didn't hurt, any pain she felt had to have been hunger pains, yet it seemed like at times her veins must've been full of shadows slithering in amongst her blood cells.

And they _talked_. Their voices scratching against her eardrums like nails on a chalkboard or lulling like murmured lullabies. There was a constant buzz, a constant white noise crackling around her like a series of eyes flapping open and closed.

She was lost at sea and all the creatures of the deep dark depths could see her. See everything.

Clusters of eyes stared out from the corners of the walls, lashing tongues licked the inside of her ears.

And then Logan appeared – his voice muted, his body sluggishly pulling itself together again. He looked like melting molasses, viscous and languidly dripping soundlessly onto the floor.

Other times Hideki appeared as a wisp of cloud blown about the room, his voice rapid and spinning, endlessly repeating itself.

When the blindfold eventually came off, Fenris couldn't focus on just one shadow. Her vision tunneled, her eyes reaching for Logan and Hideki even when Zanya blocked her view in every way. Fenris felt anger, as angry as her namesake was at Ragnarok; if Zanya volunteered as Tyr, Fenris would oblige the myth accordingly. But Zanya was always too far away to bite or spit at, smart enough not to come too close lest Fenris snap.

She was smug and confident for seventeen years, wound up in revenge for a man she couldn't have loved that dearly. He was always gone somewhere doing something, and a mother's touch hardly reared this she-devil. Other things cultivated this mind, things Fenris had no desire learning about.

And then she noticed blood.

Dirty crimson splotches, bright accents against the floor and walls like wayward stars, abstract. The shadows cowered in the corners, whispering rapidly and sinking through the dirty gray walls. Fenris jerked against the metal bolting her to the wall, half-formed pleads dying on her lips –

"Cobra will be here soon, another week or so."

Fenris stared dumbly at Zanya, her tongue numb.

"He'll be picking up Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes as well, Erebus is mine to keep."

"…what?" she croaked, gasping as Zanya was suddenly clutching her neck.

"Erebus used me to kill my father when I trusted him. I'm going to tear him a part piece by fucking piece and you won't be here to see it." She slapped Fenris, her face pulled up into a mad grin.

"Maybe I'll send a video or something, who even knows how long you lot will last in the Commander's custody."

And Zanya vanished again, Fenris wasn't sure how quickly she'd left, the shadows clouded her vision again, faster and harsher and too real.

The angulating shadows whipped around the room, coating the walls with inky blackness yet retreating from the splashes of red. They were screaming and crying, whirling around like banshees or hurricanes, maybe both.

And then, in the midst of that, Snake Eyes was standing in the room.

Fenris felt sick, shivering uncontrollably as his hands cupped her face, his thumbs breaking through the tear tracks. The sensation of his bare fingers on her skin made her moan despite herself, leaning into him as he peeled his mask off, cracked lips kneading into her cheeks.

Fenris shrieked, staring at Snake Eyes's face as it ripped and cracked like a Picasso painting, angry splotches of dried blood, his blue, blue eyes falling out of his eye sockets.

"Faker!" she screeched, squeezing her eyes shut and shutting her jaw, getting a mouthful of skin.

Whoever that was, and it wasn't Snake Eyes, screamed. Heavy fists battered her face and Fenris let go, spitting up blood and rocking awkwardly.

"FAKER, FAKER, FAKER." She repeated hysterically, the shadows parting as the figure ran from the room, shutting the door loudly and simultaneously shutting off the lights.

The shadows folded over her, wrapping her up like a mummy or cocoon. She felt tired suddenly, so, so, tired.

* * *

Snake Eyes was alert and lethal, remarkably unbound as he sat on his knees in the middle of the cell. He'd been stripped of his weapons and suit, left in a pair of white pants that were much too big for him. The stagnant air wrapped around him, sinking into his skin, laying flat all over his body. He felt no fear even as the door opened and six Red Ninja filed into the room equipped with wooden swords. He did not open his eyes until Zanya entered, nodding his head in greeting as she sat down in front of him.

"You've killed about half of my forces alone this week." She said slowly.

Snake Eyes's lips twitched.

"And I hope you appreciate the setup here while it lasts, Cobra's finishing a few things on his end before picking you guys up."

Snake Eyes blinked but otherwise made no real reaction to her words.

Zanya scowled.

She anticipated difficulty in cracking Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, and she purposely avoided Storm Shadow these days because nothing unsettled him. But she still had an ace up her sleeve – question would be if he believed it entirely.

Zanya rose up and snapped her fingers, the six Red Ninja swarmed Snake Eyes and hoisted him to his feet. They pushed him against the back wall, pulling down a pair of manacles and locking his wrists inside. One ninja moved to the corner of the room and grabbed a length of chain, pulling it until Snake Eyes's arms were high above his head and his toes just barely scrapped along the floor.

His face remained impassive even as Zarana slid into the room with a head of newly dyed blue hair; she wore what looked like a very small hospital, crude black markings dotted her skin and face.

Not detecting any noticeable change from Snake Eyes, Zanya dragged a tall silver canister from outside the room and connected it to a tube with a mask. Snake Eyes inhaled deeply and Zanya nodded, the Red Ninja each pulled out their wooden batons and slammed them into Snake Eyes's stomach. Snake Eyes lurched forward with a surprised grunt, keeping his mouth firmly shit as Zanya stalked over and grasped at his hair. She yanked his head up as four batons kneaded his sides methodically, she slipped the mask over his face and fastened it tightly behind his head, flicking a knob on the canister and stepping back.

At once he felt the gas flickering over his face, but refused to breath in. His ribs wouldn't break from this, oh they'd bruise over but he could withstand that much. Another six strikes later and Zanya slowly backed out of the room, closing the door as Zarana locked it. With a pleased sigh, she sauntered over to Snake Eyes and draped herself over his chest.

"I'm pretty good-looking, aren't I?" she said, mimicking Fenris's voice. "And you have me. All. To. Yourself."

Snake Eyes shook his head, trying to dislodge her from him but she clung, nuzzling into his neck with a soft moan.

"Come on, you've thought about it." She whispered. "You must have, once or twice."

Another six hits flew into his stomach, at least one rib cracked, scrapping his lungs. His lips opened for a millisecond, Zarana giggled and let the gown slip off her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor with a muted thud. Snake Eyes shut his eyes, feeling her fingers trail along the edges of the mask.

"Just a little bit more, Snake Eyes. You can do it." Zarana mocked gently in Fenris's soft voice.

Another six hits, and he couldn't hold it.

Blood splattered the inside of the mask, the gas fluttered into his mouth and breezed down his throat like cool shot of whiskey. It burned and scratched all the way down, slithering into his lungs; his eyes watered and his arms gave way, the chains rattled as his body went limp.

For a few seconds, his mind went utterly blank. He gazed around the room, squinting through a thick mist that clouded his vision, everything was fuzzy. He could see the bright red garments of the Red Ninja but could no longer perceive their faces, they looked more like smudged paint.

He shook his head, trying to shake the mask from his face but someone was already wrapping a roll of duct tap around his head, pumping more of the gas into his system. He was going to pass out at this rate, maybe even die with the amount of…whatever that gas was. It had no taste but he been put under before and this felt…wrong.

The mask was so tight, none of the gas could escape, so Snake Eyes kept breathing it in more and more until everything was a vague, formless blur.

"Snake Eyes?"

The ninja raised his head, rapidly blinking his eyes and shuddering. The room swam for a moment, small hands cupped his face.

"What have they done to you?"

Didn't he recognize that voice?

He grunting, pulling vainly at the chains and shaking his head. He couldn't see them properly, just the blue of their hair…blue hair…He knew someone with blue hair didn't he?

"It's me, it's Fenris." She leaned in towards him and Snake Eyes shivered, this didn't feel right.

And then she was gone, ripped by smudged blobs of red paint; he fell asleep.

He woke later, later.

There was a lithe body shuddering between two red forms, a desperate panting sound coming from the trio of them. He shut his eyes, growling angrily and shaking his head – why couldn't he see clearly? He reopened his eyes and huffed, the mist parted and swam left and right, he saw the door and the three figures in front of the door. Saw Red Ninja, saw Fenris.

Her naked legs were wrapped around a Red Ninja's waist as his cock thrust fiercely inside of her, her hands digging into his shoulders. She was thrusting her hips rapidly against the Red Ninja, whimpering and moaning and feverish at the speed her partner demanded. The other one was carefully sliding his erect penis up her ass, reaching around and toying with her breasts.

And the entire time, she was just staring at him. Staring at him with wide green eyes glittering like emeralds, her face was still a bit of a blur to him but he registered her open mouth and the obscene sounds coming from it. He read his name on her lips, his stomach twisting itself into a tight knot as her voice grew louder and shriller.

Snake Eyes shook his head – this wasn't real.

The one Red Ninja grunted and lifted her off his cock, cumming all over her stomach and bracing himself against the wall, the other one bent her forward and pushed deep into her body. Her back arched and she clutched his hands at fell on either side of her waist. The Red Ninja thrust into her faster, her breathing coming out in quick shallow breaths, why was she staring at him like that?

Another burst of the gas filled the mask, as his vision darkened, the prominent colours of red and blue melted into each other with a loud cry.

His eyes opened again, later, and Fenris meekly padded towards him, smearing the semen over her stomach.

"They made me do it," the smugness in her voice didn't make sense to him. "Do you…want a turn? I'm sure they wouldn't mind?"

She raised herself on her toes, kissing the mask and sinking her nails into his shoulders.

One of her ears was missing.

Snake Eyes growled, swallowing the gas and knocking his head against hers. The mask tore open on one side, he swallowed a lungful of fresh air, jerking against the chains as the Red Ninja fought to hold him back down.

Fenris – Zarana – squeaked and toppled backwards, scrambling backwards as the door reopened and Zanya walked in. She avoided staring at Zarana, dumping a blanket on top of her, and crossing her arms over her chest. She had to have been watching to some degree otherwise she wouldn't have walked in just then. Zanya scowled and ripped the mask off, painfully tearing the duct tape out of his hair with a growl. She lifted his chin up and pulled his pants away from his skin with a minute glance.

"Not even hard?" she scolded. "Nothing gets to you, does it?"

A scream from outside caught their attention and Zandar whipped past the room clutching his face. Zanya hissed and let go of Snake Eyes, running after her uncle and growling for the rest of the room's occupants to follow her.

Snake Eyes did not relax until he was utterly alone again, the darkness of his cell a welcomed roommate as he closed his eyes.

He now had an idea of where one of his friends was.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN: Fracture**

Alone in her room, Zanya lay prone on her bed with the wolf curled up on the ground beside her. A cellphone vibrated gently on her stomach, a message she'd been ignoring for the better part of an hour. Huffing impatiently, she dropped her hand on the object, closing her fingers around it like a claw, and then hanging the phone over her face while reading the message.

 _-another two weeks-_

Zanya growled and tossed the phone onto the bed, forcing herself off the mattress and snapping her fingers for the wolf. The two of them left the small room and moved into the lower chambers, spying Zandar and Zarana leaning against opposite sides of the hall. Zandar had a large patch on his face from the chunk of skin Fenris ripped out of it, he hadn't said much of anything since that accident and neither had Zarana. Her nose was broken and the skin around it was black from the sheer force of Snake Eyes's head butt; she washed the dye out of her hair and it was a weird grayish colour, making her appear years older.

"Two more weeks," Zanya spat. "And then he'll come for them. Stick to monitoring, we don't need anymore accidents."

"Fine by me." Zandar grunted, walking back up the stairs.

"Are you going to visit Erebus?" Zarana asked, not especially interested as she moved towards her niece.

"That's the last thing I want to do right now." Zanya sighed. "Do you have a problem with this?"

Zarana shrugged. "I'm sure I can find _something_ to do with my spare time, don't you worry."

Zanya made a face and walked around her aunt, disappearing down the hall and peering into Erebus's shared cell with Storm Shadow – the two of them appeared asleep but Erebus took time to look up at her, eyes smiling. Zanya bristled and backtracked, looking into Snake Eyes's cell and finding him sitting quietly in the middle of the room again. A roll of bandages was wrapped around his ribs and his face was still a little red from imprint of the mask. Fenris was equally quiet, though mumbling incoherently at the room around her.

Zanya frowned and returned to her room, glaring down at her punching bag as she smashed her fists into it. She wouldn't mind fighting the lot of them but Cobra specified that they needed to be intact and reasonably healthy. How boring.

* * *

Fenris was on the ground more often these days because she was easier to deal with if someone just sat on her chest like a fucking buffoon. Her face ached and someone had stuck a bar in her mouth to keep from her from biting, dried strings of saliva stuck to her face. She wasn't anymore coherent than she was earlier, whenever that was, but she consistently felt angrier. Anger was exhausting in the long run, maintaining it was difficult when she couldn't really move, couldn't use up that energy.

It made her a little jealous of Zanya, but in the same breath Fenris wondered if the younger woman was bored. During all this time, Fenris hadn't been dragged out into a coliseum and forced to fight her allies or anything like that. She hadn't been on the receiving end of any vicious attacks in a while aside from Zandar. Zanya had been so kind as to finally name some of her co-conspirators.

She could understand needing the ninja as listless as possible but not her. She wasn't that hard to put down.

" _Don't sell yourself short."_ Shadow Logan said, his head toppling gently onto the floor. _"You took a piece out of Zandar."_

Fenris hummed in response, nodding her head and forcing herself to sit up. Her ankles were tied together and she could've giggled at the thought of finally wearing a straitjacket, but her legs were naked and cold.

Shadow Logan's head rolled towards her, slowly climbing up her thigh and settling morbidly in her lap. Over the last couple of…days? weeks? he had finally started appearing more and more human-looking versus an amalgamation of soupy shadows. She supposed she should be more put off by the image, but she kept thinking of the Cheshire Cat and how he could appear as just a head, so she wasn't as bothered.

She leaned her head against the wall and huffed, slowly closing her eyes as another trail of saliva crawled down her throat, its sticky train triggering goosebumps up and down her body. She wondered how long it would take for Cobra to get here, how long it would take for Zanya to get bored and just kill them. A benefit of isolation was that nothing was ever really that scary, especially as Logan's severed head rolled around to face her.

" _Can't be much longer,"_ he said cheerfully. _"I'm gonna make you throw up now.'_

Fenris cocked her head to one side and then shuddered, Logan's mouth stretched open and flurry of fireflies flew out, buzzing incessantly around her head. She felt her stomach knot and then the acid rising up her throat; with her mouth blocked Fenris shuddered as the remnants of breakfast burned up into her nostrils, partially digested rice dripped out of her nose.

Moments later the door was thrown open and she was hoisted into the air, the shadows retracting behind her as the gag was unlatched she threw up down the person's back. He swore and then tossed her into another room, her body smashing into something as they both toppled over. She retched again, this time into what dimly looked like a tub and moaned.

"You look terrible."

Fenris flinched, raising her head and staring up at Erebus. She scuttled backwards and examined the cramped room, hissing as her back slammed into the wall. Erebus had manacles around his ankles but was otherwise unbound, there were purple bruises on his body and angry red marks across his face, like claw marks.

"What?"

"Don't talk and get over here." Erebus ordered gruffly and Fenris shrank backwards.

The man huffed and simply pulled her over, grabbing a roll of paper towels and ripping off a section with his teeth.

"Blow," he said sternly and Fenris did so, feeling the rice fly out of her nose.

She must've made a face because Erebus quickly dunked her over the edge of the tub as she threw up again.

"What's going on?" she questioned, and saw the shadows in the room start moving. Erebus tapped her cheek and reached over to turn on the facet.

"I'm the cleanup crew for you guys. Snake Eyes was in here some days ago. His ribs are a mess."

"Is he…?"

Erebus pushed her head under the stream of cold water and held it there, Fenris yelped and wriggled awkwardly, resisting the urge to whip up and bite him.

"Just let me talk? I've had numerous objects shoved down my throat and I haven't heard my own voice in days."

"You've evidently grown a little more arrogant."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sound remarkably sane."

"I've been talking with my brother's severed head; I think I'm just heavily desensitized."

He whistled and grabbed a small bottle, flicking it open with his thumb and pouring it on top of Fenris's head. It was equally cold when he started scrubbing it into her scalp.

"So…you bit Zandar." He said conversationally.

"He looked like Snake Eyes."

Erebus grunted and grabbed her shoulder, lifting her up to look at him.

"It was a hologram, that's his specialty." He made a face. "Really though, you look terrible."

"Guess taking bites out of people makes them angry."

Erebus snorted and Fenris leaned over the tub, letting him rinse the remaining soap out of her hair. He said he couldn't do much more than that because he wasn't allowed to take the straitjacket off, he was however allowed to clean up her face and mend any injuries she had. They spent some time in that little room for a while, Erebus icing her face as the two of them talked.

"Can you tell me about Snake Eyes now and Storm Shadow?" Fenris asked, leaning her head over the tub's edge and balancing a bag of ice on her face.

"Storm Shadow is fine. Angry as fuck but fine. Zanya tried messing with him the first day she caught him, he wasn't even fazed. Makes me wonder what Cobra did to him." Erebus explained, jerking the manacles around experimentally.

"And Snake Eyes?"

"He's…also angry." Erebus grimaced. "Zarana specializes in manual disguises, apparently she made herself look like you."

"Excuse me?" Fenris tipped her head up and the ice pack slipped right off her face. Erebus sighed and pushed the bag back onto her face, forcing her head down in the process.

"He didn't go into detail but his ribs were a mess when I saw him, at least one is broken but I think they went for…psychological torture."

"She looked like me…" Fenris mumbled.

Erebus reached over and nudged her shoulder, his expression going blank as a knock sounded on the door. "Don't think too much about it, and try not to piss anyone off."

"No promises." Fenris grinned crookedly, hissing as a Red Ninja hoisted her up over his shoulder.

They left Erebus alone as several Red Ninja crowded into the room, shutting the door behind them as a series of grunts echoed from inside. Fenris frowned as the Red Ninja dropped her off in front of one door, opening it up and thrusting her inside. It was still ridiculously dark but she knew this wasn't her room. The Red Ninja didn't seem to care, leaving the room as quickly as he entered it, locking the door and leaving her in silence again.

The shadows twisted languidly on the ceiling, Fenris waited for the whispers to start up again but was distracted by a figure looming over her.

"Come any closer and I will bite you." she threatened darkly. "Don't think I won't."

The figure let out a relieved sort of sigh. They sat her up and she felt their rough hands pulling at the ropes around her ankles, and the moment her legs were free she scrambled backwards towards the door. She could feel the figure coming towards her, she pulled her knees up to her chest and shivered.

"I'm warning you…I bit a guy's arm off once."

The figure got even closer, she sensed the warmth coming off their body, he was a giant shadow she could not wish away.

"Don't…don't come any closer."

A warm hand fell on her foot. Two fingers probed the snake bites, not in a malicious way but in a gentle, almost loving way. Fenris let out a breath, shaking her head as the shadows clustered together, spinning around and around. She shut her eyes and moaned, dropping her head onto her chest.

"Please…"

" _Thalia. It's me."_

"We already went through this trick, asshole."

" _Theresa."_

Fenris felt her chest seize and she threw herself forward, welcoming the strong arms that wound around her shoulders. She became a series of violent tremors as Snake Eyes tried to calm her down, rocking back and forth as Fenris folded herself around him, breathing him in for the first time in ages.

"I hope no one checks your room." She whispered, giggling anxiously as his fingers started writing into her back.

" _Me too."_

Then she remembered something else. "Geez, your ribs, I'm so sorry!"

She nearly pulled away but Snake Eyes held onto her. _"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm fine now."_

"Snake Eyes?" she hissed, gasping as he hugged her tighter, already working on undoing the straps binding her.

" _You're freezing."_ He slipped the straitjacket off and tossed it aside. She was happy that she was wearing a thin shirt underneath.

She wrapped her arms around him, soaking in his warmth and sighing as they leaned against the door.

" _Will_ someone look in here?"

" _No, when the lights go off, no one comes. I haven't exactly been doing much in here."_

"At least you could _move_." She grumbled, pushing her head under his chin.

" _I'll give you that one." S_ nake Eyes stiffened. _"Do you smell that?"_

"I'm sorry?" Fenris shifted carefully and scented the air. "…smoke?"

" _We need to move away from the door."_

Snake Eyes picked Fenris up and retreated towards a corner, the two of them waiting in silence as the first of the explosives went off.

* * *

 **Two chapters going up today because I keep falling behind my update schedule. Surprise!**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: Redrum**

The door to the cell opened and Snake Eyes winced at the harsh light, blinking at the figure that shuffled inside and pulled off their Red Ninja mask and uniform. As more light filed into the room, the figure tossed a duffel bag along the floor and huffed impatiently as she started uncoiling a roll of bandages.

"Hurry it up in there, we need to find your weapons next."

"Sedna?" Fenris gasped and the woman leaned out of the door so more of her face was illuminated, the bandages bound around her knuckles.

"Yes, now hurry. Pleasantries later."

Snake Eyes nodded and dragged the bag over, sorting out his things from Fenris's and dressing quickly. Once they were both suited up, Sedna dashed out into the hallway and slammed her fist into the first enemy she saw, the impact breaking his jaw and caving in part of his cheek.

Snake Eyes raced in behind her, flying into a spin and knocking three men down. Sedna pulled two jagged knives from her belt, slashing into the fallen enemies before surging ahead like wild windstorm. Fenris and Snake Eyes fought to keep pace, their injuries making the run even more punishing than usual, but any pain started to fade as the frenzy of battle took over.

There were G.I. Joes everywhere, storming in from every hallway like powerful streams of unhindered water, cleansing the base of Red Ninja. In the large room at the end of the hall, a frenzied Storm Shadow launched out of the door like a madman loosed from hell; his swords had not yet been returned so he clawed at anything that moved towards him.

While the image and sound of Storm Shadow snapping necks would stay in Fenris's mind forever, Sedna just looked unimpressed. She rolled her eyes and shoved a Red Ninja into a wall, letting out a high-pitched whistle that parted the tide of warriors. A flash of red hair, and Snake Eyes jumped to catch a pair of familiar katana swords thrown in his general direction – Scarlet gave him a brief smile, weaving between fighters and passing Gleipnir to Fenris. The grin on Fenris's face was likely a little more maniacal than usual as she looped the chain around her back, grasping the blades tightly and heading towards the door where she'd previously left Erebus.

But Erebus was doing just fine, someone had given him a large spiked club and he was gleefully smashing heads in with wanton abandon. Fenris was propelled forward, moving to cover his back, slashing back and forth. Scarlet and Snake Eyes charged after Storm Shadow, hoping to rear him in before he engaged in some friendly fire. Erebus nudged Fenris with one of his arms, drawing her attention to Zandar and Zarana who gaped from the upper gallery.

"I'm game if you are," Fenris said, already passing him and running for the stairs. "Zandar's mine."

Erebus gave her a worried look but said nothing, racing after her and booking it up the stairs.

Having the earlier start, Fenris leapt at Zandar and swung both blades down on his head. He ducked and scuttled backwards, bashing one of his legs into her side in the process. Growling, Fenris spun around, swiping the blades along one of his arms with a satisfied grin. She feinted to the left, ducking under his fists before jabbing one blade into his side, the other she stabbed into his shoulder.

"Oh, got some spark now, do we?" Zandar grunted.

"You have no idea," she growled at him.

She yanked one of her blades out of his body and slashed it across his neck, watching his eyes widen in surprise as his hands flew up to stop the flow of blood. She pulled the other blade out, kicking him over and throwing both of her blades into his neck, pinning his hands there until all the light faded from his eyes. Fenris could almost feel his heart stop beating, the din of gunfire and explosions synchronizing into a dull pulsating beat that drummed inside her skull. She expected some level of satisfaction when she twisted the blades out of him, rising off his body like a bloody goddess of death, but nothing came.

Even as Zarana screamed behind her, Fenris only slowly turned and watched, almost dumbly, as the woman ran at her. Zarana completely missed Erebus glide in behind her, grabbing her face in one hand and ripping it viciously to one side. Like Fenris, he paid little heed to the corpse that dropped from his arms. His keen red eyes peered at her coldly, as if from a large distance. Fenris shook her head, the adrenaline buzzing in her head like a pack of fireflies…

Erebus placed a hand on her shoulder, for a split second she could've sworn Firefly had his hands around her neck…

Fenris jerked away, blindly flailing her arms at him until she felt him move backwards. There was an odd expression on his face but she chose to ignore it, sidestepping him and moving back down the stairs to rejoin the team.

"Where's Sedna?" Fenris rasped, ducking under a sword and spinning into a kick.

"Went after Zanya, the rest of the team is dealing with the Red Ninja." Scarlet supplied, throwing out a hand for Snake Eyes to take. He swung her around and she shoved her knee into a man's cheek, probably shattering it.

"How'd you find us?" Fenris asked, dropped between the two of them and stabbing two separate Red Ninja.

"Later, Fen!"

Fenris swung back around and blocked a sword from slamming into Erebus's back. She and the mercenary started pushing Red Ninja into the largest chamber of the compound; the former teacher-student team worked backwards and took out the stragglers who weren't as eager to fight.

As the lower levels were cleared out, the group moved upstairs into the more familiar areas. Fenris found herself drawn back into the lab, catching sight of a shape slinking down the dark hallway. She glanced behind her at the others and then continued down, immediately regretting it as something large and furry jumped on top of her. She braced the blades in front of her face, growling as its claws dug into her shoulders, its snapping jaws cut themselves on the blades but did not dissuade it from attacking.

Fenris growled and shoved it off her body, scrambling back into the wall and screaming as the wolf snapped at her shoulder. The first few layers of skin were ripped away, the blood soaking through her sleeve as pain burned in her shoulder. She sunk against the wall, locking her legs around the wolf's neck, stabbing Skoll and Hati into the wolf's ears, hoping to damage the brain.

The metal grafted into its body sliced into her legs as the wolf thrashed, she heard someone run into the hallway and yelped as Snake Eyes jammed his blade into the top of the wolf's head.

"God fucking damnit," she swore, clutching her shoulder and legs with a slight whine.

" _Why did you go off on your own?"_

"I…I don't know, but I'm sure as hell regretting it. Fuck that hurts."

" _Stay here, Erebus will look after you."_

"Wouldn't it be _so_ funny if I lost my arm too?"

The look Snake Eyes gave her was scathing. He kneeled at her side and gently lifted her hand away, his face unreadable as he swept her up into his arms. Fenris opened her mouth for a retort but stopped short, the thick scent of blood swimming about her head. Snake Eyes hissed and jogged towards a flight of stairs, shouldering into a door and breaking it open. Two lines of strobed lights glittered up from the ground like precious gems, Snake Eyes saw someone flittering about the dark shadows of planes.

He leaned Fenris against the wall, pressing a wad of cloth against her wound and signalling for backup. He stalked towards the shadows and reeled backwards as Zanya swung a massive axe at him.

"You know what, fuck Cobra and fuck you. I'm done following orders."

"You tell him, Z," Fenris snorted, wincing as she sat up a little straighter. She wished the room wasn't so dark, the shadows were lunging at her, crashing around her like waves.

Snake Eyes flipped backwards as Zanya threw the axe out again, swinging it back and forth like a madwoman. She let it fly out of her hands and jumped into the air, planting both feet against Snake Eye's chest and sending the two of them flying in opposite directions. Both recovered quickly, forgoing weapons for fists, and Snake Eyes cracked into Zanya like an uncoiled snake.

Zanya's vision swam, she tumbled backwards as her mouth filled with blood, faintly aware that Snake Eyes had grabbed one of her ankles. He lifted her off the ground and tossed her further into the darkness, the rattle of footsteps hurriedly clamoured up into the chamber.

The ninja flew at Zanya when she climbed to her feet, knocking her over as he settled in behind her, wrapping an arm around her neck. Zanya growled. Her feet thrashed and she dug her fingers into his suit hoping they'd cut deep enough into his skin. Her vision was dotted with black spots, her heartbeat thudded and her breath whistled out of her chest.

Snake Eyes only released her when her fingers slackened, Sedna was already by his side and slipping cuffs over her wrists.

Snake Eyes made his way back to Fenris, sitting beside her as the sounds of warfare outside slowly went out. She looked at him for a moment before tipping into his shoulder, the rag falling heavily to the ground with a wet splat.

* * *

 _I was asleep for most of the trip back home but I heard Erebus's rumbling voice filled with caution and concern. Something about my lack of remorse, something about mental scarring as if I'd lose sleep over Zandar. I didn't know Zandar. He made his choices and I made mine; why should I feel sorry for him?_

 _Sedna didn't say much but I felt her beside me, her dry hands weaving bandages over my skin until we could get proper treatment. She felt calm, almost ghost-like, watching over everything but not speaking. Scarlet talked a lot but I couldn't hear her properly, or anyone else from the Alpha Team._

 _I was there, but I wasn't._

 _And for a little while, I felt Logan looming over me like a shield. My eyes were closed, the shadows didn't move, and I couldn't get a read on him. Could he be angry at me because I killed Zandar?_

 _Erebus once told me, and Snake Eyes too, that I was a protector because I didn't want to kill. But I honestly wanted to kill Zandar. I didn't feel anger or vengeance…just…_

 _He hurt me so I ought to hurt him back, right? I proved strong enough to overpower him and I won. I hated him, for what he did to everyone, but he was doing his job so…We did as we were trained to do. Just because I don't have remorse doesn't make me a mindless killer, right? I just filed my emotions away, it was just business._

 _Dad used to say that there would be times when we would need to put our emotions aside, like dealing with deaths in the family. It's just business; it's funeral rites and the burial, and organizing that stuff is business. No emotions._

 _No emotions._

* * *

Fenris woke up in the sterile confines of the infirmary, the scent of bleach and blood still mingling in the air. She lay on her back with the curtains pulled around her bed, someone was moaning on her left, and likely sleeping on her right. As she woke up more, Fenris felt the dull ache of her shoulder transform into a hard pain that nested deep within her, a second heartbeat pounding out a manageable rhythm painkillers were actively controlling. She could see both her hands lying on her stomach, each purpled or otherwise scarred, the soft cotton nightshirt was a welcomed change from the plastic backless hospital gowns.

For a while, she did nothing but listen to her heart monitor go off and the staff move around to other patients, their shadows breezing pass her like vagrant phantoms. The curtained off section she lay in was almost completely free of shadows but every now and then she heard a whisper in her ear, or a shadow would turn and look at her even though its fleshly host had moved on. Her monitor picked up speed and a nurse poked her head in, smiling benignly and waving someone over. Fenris shut her eyes briefly, opening them as a familiar shape sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hey, Hayabusa." She said softly, one of her hands finding his. "Everyone OK?"

He nodded, rubbing his thumb across her hand.

"How bad am I?"

" _Your shoulder's the worse of it, lost nearly a pint of blood but you pulled through."_

"No action for a while then, huh?" Fenris grimaced, blinking at the nurse who pulled the curtains away.

She did not recognize the men on the beds on either side of her, but she could see Erebus hovering outside the infirmary with a very controlled expression. The nurse handed her some pills and a glass of water she begrudgingly accepted, snuggling into the covers with a sigh.

" _Not for a lot of us. As soon as you're feeling better, we've a wedding to attend."_

"Oh! Right, Scarlet and Rip. Time flies when you're unconscious." She chuckled and Snake Eyes mimicked her.

" _And you know what?"_

"Hm?"

" _Scarlet's made me her Man of Honour."_


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE: And Here We Are**

Fenris got out of the infirmary a few days later, waiting for Snake Eyes as she ran a hand through her hair. It was longer and not nearly as blue, perhaps she'd ask him to dye it for her before Scarlet's wedding in the next week.

Scarlet was probably the calmest bride she'd ever seen, while Ripcord was almost entirely in pieces and worried about everything. The Alpha Team was due for some vacation time after apprehending Zanya and questioning her on Cobra's location, Whisper had been called in to the probe the mechanical animals obtained from the base but sadly admitted they couldn't be rehabilitated, not with so much interference. A lot of them would be euthanized.

Scarlet had informed the group that Jinx tipped them off about their whereabouts; she'd been monitoring the old Arashikage base in case anyone else was stupid enough to use it again. She and her cousin were both busy tracking down other Red Ninja, hoping to stumble upon Cobra in the process. Storm Shadow had effectively shut himself down during his capture and the intense rage he released was more like an aggressive reboot setting – he passed his psyche exam with ease.

Erebus, for all his bravado, had issues. Would he reveal them? No, but at least he was willing to set up sessions with a therapist every week. Meaning he was also recommended to stay on base until the therapist could determine he was mentally prepared for duty again.

Snake Eyes was fine. Despite whatever psychological tricks Zanya had used, he appeared to be working through them on his own in a heathy manner. He technically wasn't in active service yet and was teaching classes on base to the new recruits.

As she awaited Snake Eyes, Fenris noticed another woman walking towards her. She wasn't in army fatigues or dressed like the nursing staff, but she looked professional enough in a crisp white T-shirt and black dress pants. An I.D. tag hung off her pocket and as she got closer, Fenris could see the familiar silver chain that typically hung dog tags. She was a little shorter than Fenris with a head of bouncy chestnut brown curls, her honey brown skin was dotted with freckles. She stopped just short of Fenris's relaxed lean against the wall and smiled.

"Fenris?" she queried softly.

"Yeah, who're you?"

"Everyone around here calls me Doc; I'm afraid Snake Eyes can't make it today."

Fenris raised an eyebrow and pushed off the wall, moving in front of Doc with a cautious frown. The woman eased out of her smile into more of a smirk, not at all troubled by the height different; Fenris noticed the small bag hanging off her shoulder.

"That accent…reminds me of Gambit."

Doc chuckled and put her hands on her hips.

"I get that a lot, sugar, now how about we get something to eat?"

Fenris followed Doc to the cafeteria where they found a seat near the window where a blizzard raged on outside, the sharp spikes of ice crashed against the window without a sound.

"How are you feeling?" Doc asked, her tone soothing and warm.

"Fine, a little sore but it's manageable."

"Any nightmares?"

Fenris paused.

"N…no, not yet anyway."

"You expect some?" Doc questioned, her tone still friendly. Fenris felt her stomach clench.

"I guess. Why are you so curious?"

Doc shrugged, her hazel eyes focusing on an apple she'd picked up. She started cutting up slices, placing some in Fenris's plate. Doc proceeded to grab a knife from her pocket and started carving her own slices into easy shapes.

Fenris looked away and focused on the line of Joes coming in from what she guessed was the gym.

"I just want to make sure you're feeling alright, cher."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine, OK? Did Erebus put you up to this?"

"Why would he?" Doc asked, voice unchanged in volume.

"I don't know. He's worried I'm psychotic."

"Are you?" Doc studied her apple carving and place it on Fenris's plate, Fenris could've screamed.

It was a cluster of fireflies.

"I don't think you're psychotic, Fenris. I do think that you've repressed a great deal of fear in order to keep up with the rest of your team. I have heard you had nightmares about the past and they have everything to do with these harmless creatures."

Doc grabbed the bag hanging off the chair and unzipped it, pulling the bag open and sticking her hand inside. She produced a small mason jar and gently slid it along the tabletop, tapping the glass and few times and stirring whatever was previously motionless.

Four fireflies, their abdomen's glowing, buzzed in circles within the jar, Fenris clenched her jaw and looked away. Doc stowed the jar back in her bag.

"Have you ever heard of post traumatic stress disorder?"

* * *

The training room had long been empty by the time Fenris found herself at its doors, thankful the walls weren't glass. She gently let herself inside, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it. Snake Eyes had his back to her, a long wooden staff was grasped in his hands and he quietly moved through several different stances before Fenris let out a cough. He turned, saw her, and walked to the other side of the room where he could return the staff to its place. He paused before moving back to Fenris, gripping the edges of his mask and pulling it off his face.

There were scars, old ones, and a few recent marks that marred the skin under his eyes and near his lips. His eyes were untouched, thank God, and Fenris folded her arms over her chest. She slid across the floor and let Snake Eyes wrap his arms around her.

"I've got problems," she stated eloquently. Released a sigh. Uncoiled herself.

She put her arms around him.

"And I need to address something, aside from those problems. Before we go any further."

Snake Eyes leaned away and looked down at her, raising one eyebrow.

"I need you, you know."

His lips parted and Fenris felt as if someone was pushing her, she found herself on her toes, her lips on his. His hands slid down her back and circled her waist, pulling their bodies together, as he nudged her toes. They moved back, back, back, into the wall. Fenris felt confident enough to place her arms around his neck, moving her fingers through his hair as she kissed him.

"I need you," she tried again, sliding back down. "I've needed you for a while but I was…I was worried that I…"

Fenris swore and put her hands over her face. "I was worried I wasn't good enough. Like, you deserved someone who could look after themselves."

"And I was _scared_ , damnit, that bad things would happen if I stayed with you. But bad things _have_ happened. And we're still _here_ , and I don't want to be scared anymore, Snake Eyes."

"I'm not going to be easy, but I want to get better and I want you…here. With me."

She let out a pathetic laugh, poking his chest and shaking her head.

"Please don't say, "ditto"."

Snake Eyes sighed and gently held her face in his hands, tipping her head up so he could kiss her again. His mouth smiled and Fenris felt a shiver of passion run through her, along with the beginnings of impatient tears.

" _I feel the same."_ He signed and an enormous weight was lifted off his shoulders. _"I worried that I would endanger you, get you killed, but we've survived just about the worse and here we are."_

He looked sheepish for a moment. _"And I've been denying the attraction between us because of that, I got angry that everyone else could see it because I thought it would never work. But it will."_

"So…now what?"

" _Well…you don't exactly have a room here."_

* * *

Fenris sat on top of the bed with a plastic bag over her head, Snake Eyes was doing push-ups on a small mat on the floor. She was thumbing through a magazine Scarlet had left with Snake Eyes, correctly assuming he'd pass it on to her. Fenris couldn't help but feel Scarlet knew exactly what had transpired in the training room. Fenris was trying to ignore the fact that just about all her close friends would somehow guess the beginnings of intimacy between them, and she anticipated a healthy amount of teasing.

Scarlet didn't have anything in mind for what her bridesmaids should wear, so Fenris stuck to avoiding black, white, and red for obvious reasons.

"So…are you going to wear the ninja suit to the ceremony and stuff?" Fenris asked without looking up.

Snake Eyes huffed and stared at her, grunting as he stood up and sat down behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. He put his hands in front of her view of the magazine and started signing.

" _Yes, I still have an identity to protect. Scarlet understands this, does it bother you?"_

"Just trying to picture the wedding photos, I need to find something that won't look…weird next to you."

Snake Eyes snickered, pointing to a puffy yellow gown.

" _You can avoid that one. I'm not sure "Bumblebee" needs to be our shipping name."_

"One, yellow is a great colour, Mister. Two, shipping names are made from the names of people, not their clothes…can't believe you thought of that."

" _Are you looking for something in particular?"_

'Comfort is key; I am sorely tempted to go barefoot."

* * *

Fenris examined herself in the mirror, ruffling her newly dyed midnight blue hair with a satisfied smile on her face. It wasn't as bright as the first dye job, and nor was it too dark that the colour couldn't be determined. Fenris sighed contented and shook her head again, shuffling out of the bathroom and flopping dramatically onto the bed. Snake Eyes eyed her curiously as she crawled along the bed and curled up beside him as he looked at the magazine.

"See anything you like?" she wondered coyly, her cheeks flushing.

Snake Eyes rolled his eyes.

" _Blue or an emerald green would look good. A lot of other colours, with the right shades, would look good but those are my picks."_

Snake Eyes passed the magazine back and Fenris saw a few dog-eared pages she'd look into later. She tossed the magazine onto a chair near the bed and yawned, scratching at the bandages wrapped around her legs. Snake Eyes flicked her arm and pulled a bottle of pills from the bedside table, getting off the bed for a glass of water.

" _Is Doc putting you on something?"_

"Not yet? I really don't like the thought of medication, I know it works and all that but I kind of…don't want it. We're going to do group sessions with Erebus and a couple other people, thought of getting a dog in case the nightmares become too much."

Fenris replied honestly, accepting the painkillers with a slight frown. She tossed the pills into her mouth, swallowing a mouthful of water and making a face. Snake Eyes chuckled soundlessly at her and turned towards the small circular window, standing sideways so he could both stare outside and sign.

" _Sounds good, I'm here if you need any support…Fenris?"_

Snake Eyes saw from the corner of his eyes Fenris put both hands over her face, he backtracked and dropped onto the mattress beside her. With his hands already finding comfortable spots on her shoulders, Fenris hiccupped and shook her head.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm…OK. I'm OK." She timidly peeked from in between her fingers. "I think my period is due."

" _It's been a rough couple of weeks. You're starting to process everything now."_ Snake Eyes sighed and pulled the covers of the bed out from under them, sliding inside and gently pulling Fenris down with him.

" _Is this alright?"_

"Fine. Sorry if I wake you up, I know I kick in my sleep sometimes."

" _I've had worse."_

* * *

 **The one thing about OC's in the G.I. Joe fandom is that a lot of civilians tend to accept their new lifestyle of hunting down terrorists with ease, not saying that's a bad thing at all, but I kinda really wanted to go for a little more realism considering Fenris already lost her brother and brother-in-law in the first story. All the violence would have to get to a person at this rate, so mentally Fenris has a long way to go before she feels fine. And she'll probably never be truly fine because there are some things you just can't wish away.**

 **And yes, they kissed. You were probably wondering when that was ever going to happen, right? Don't lie, I know it's been on your mind. It's been on mine. Don't know if I'm willing to write another sex scene, I really wanted to focus on violence with some sexual stuff - but! There's a wedding (or two) coming up along with the conclusion in a few more chapters.**

 **Huge thanks to the Guests and MustangLover97 for reviewing nearly every chapter, it's a good kick in my ass to get me writing. So, come one then, kick my ass.**

 **I am so tired :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Alliance or No?**

Zanya sat in the hard metal chair in the middle of a cold grey metal room staring into Snake Eyes's visor with enough venom capable of killing four grown men. Scarlet was hovering behind him and Zanya knew several other people were crowding the hallway outside this interrogation room. Her arms were manacled to the table and a thick chain was wrapped around her waist that connected to her ankles, moving was a very noisy affair and it ticked her off that each movement clinked and clanked.

No one had offered her food yet, most of the other agencies took pity on her thin seventeen-year-old frame, and her lawyer was trying to play up the whole "brainwashed servant" aspect. Her lawyer – a smartly dressed, fresh out of law school, probably sees her as a redeemable lost cause – was sweating in his seat next to her, he'd loosened his tie and removed his tan suit jacket which was draped around her shoulders. Instead of the typical orange jumpsuit, Zanya was still wearing her green cargo pants and a white tank top, she wondered if they cranked up the AC in this room. Too bad it wasn't helping her lawyer.

"We won't take up too much of your time, Zanya." Scarlet began in an official tone.

"I hope you understand that we've already been interrogated by the CIA, FBI, USSS, several foreign agencies and we will be seeing the UN in the next week. Surely they've all recorded her answers?"

"We understand your frustration, Mr. Wilson, but each agency is looking into different aspects of Zanya's crimes. We're interested in her employer."

Snake Eyes slid a series of photos towards them, Mr. Wilson peered at them and scoffed. He examined a picture of Cobra Commander, pointing an index finger at the silver dome covering his face.

"Is this some sort of joke? This looks like a comic book villain." He then looked at Snake Eyes. "And what's with the ninja get-up anyway?"

Snake Eyes didn't register the comment and Scarlet released a long sigh, pulling the photo back and taking a seat beside her partner.

"I'm sure you're aware of the terrorist attack on Fort Sumter two years ago? This is the man responsible for the destruction of London city, I understand you graduated at the top of your class, but risk a little decorum, would you?"

Zanya smirked and twitched her fingers expectantly, Scarlet dropped the photo into her hands and Zanya whistled.

"Yeah, haven't seen him in a while. He contacted me only very rarely, I'm sure your techies have been all over my computers."

Snake Eyes nodded and Wilson frowned.

"Did you obtain a warrant to search through her belongings?"

"They were remnants from an another case two years ago, none of it actually belonged to her, Mr. Wilson."

Zanya got the impression that Scarlet was just as tired of Wilson as she was, and was only barely suppressing the urge to hit him. Wilson huffed and unbuttoned his shirt, fanning himself. Snake Eyes leaned back towards the door and knocked, a few seconds passed and the door opened with a tray of two cups of water. Snake Eyes slid it over towards Wilson who cautiously accepted it, swallowing a mouthful and shaking himself out of his stupor.

"I see. Well, I find this entire arrangement very suspect, we were flown in _blindfolded_ for Pete's sake!"

"We're protecting the integrity of our operation after a number of people were found to be Cobra conspirators; Zanya do you have any idea where Cobra would be by now?"

"No. Never said. We met up around several different locations, I can tell you –"

"Provided we get some sort of deal out it." Wilson interrupted.

Scarlet shook her head. "If you're meeting with the UN, there's little we could actually do to help her, unless we ourselves allow her to serve her sentence on one of our bases."

Snake Eyes and Scarlet shared a look, Wilson nodded and rubbed Zanya's shoulder encouragingly.

"Why not? Most of Zanya's crimes were allegedly against members of your own organization, no foreign dignitaries or mass destruction. In return for these locations, she can remain in your protection."

"Because that's exactly what I want…" Zanya mumbled, only for Wilson to shush her.

"We'll speak with the General, you two can stay on base. In this room. Until we've sorted things out."

* * *

After a few hours, Wilson and Zanya were moved into a larger room with two beds and a small toilet and faucet, Wilson again expressed disapproval at their lodgings as he set down his modest suitcase. Zanya's restraints had been removed but Snake Eyes fastened two metal bracelets that, when activated, would trigger magnets forcing the bracelets together. She returned Wilson's jacket and grabbed one of the blankets, wrapping it around her shoulders and releasing a frustrated huff. She knew this base was located somewhere cold, and she hated cold climates because they made her sleepy. Zanya spared a glance at her lawyer and snorted, watching him fidget on the bed as he sought a comfortable position.

"Not what you were expecting? Suck it up, buttercup, this _is_ what you wanted."

"I guess I didn't realize how difficult this would be."

"Why'd you even take my case? How did you even hear about it?" Zanya probed, turning over to look at him.

Wilson shrugged, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows and popping his collar, he pulled his suitcase onto the bed and started thumbing through it.

"I don't know, really. I got a call and then…well, I met you." Wilson smiled, smoothing his hair out and cracking his neck. "Are there cameras in this room?"

"Nope, probably guards outside though. I guess I'm not much of a threat, the beds are pretty comfy."

Wilson hummed thoughtfully and got off the bed, getting on his hands and knees and peering under the bed. Zanya sighed and rolled her eyes, moving onto her back and shutting her eyes. She could hear him humming to himself as he flittered around the room, examining the dimensions of the room. There were other noises too, a loud screeching that the guards had to be hearing right now but there was no one beating down the door.

Curious, Zanya opened her eyes and saw that Wilson moved his bed against the door, he paused in his machinations and turned to her, one half of his face slowly melting off to reveal silver skin and a piercing red eye. Zanya froze and sat back up, looking around the room for a weapon. Wilson turned around slowly, and Zanya could the small crack between the bottom of the door and the floor, heavy shadows had fallen before it.

"What happened to the guards?" Zanya asked, standing up and moving around the room.

"On our way in, I pulled off my buttons and left them on the ground. They dispersed a mild sedative into the air." Wilson replied mechanically.

"Cobra sent you to finish me off then?"

"Yes." Wilson reached into his pocket and pulled out a clicker, pressing the only button on the device.

Zanya's arms flew forward and her wrists connected with a clank. Tried and she might, Zanya couldn't pull the bracelets apart. Wilson smiled and tossed the clicker to the floor, rushing Zanya and pinning her against the wall. He wrapped a hand around her neck and hoisted her off the ground, pulling out a knife and holding her up to her eye.

"Sure, you know nothing about Cobra's plans but staying with the Joes might give you ideas of revenge. I truly didn't want the UN to get you, but staying here just might rehabilitate you. So sorry."

Zanya grunted, kicking his stomach and hissing as her foot connected with something hard. Wilson giggled, putting the knife in his mouth and ripping open his shirt and running a hand down his metal torso. Zanya could see rivers of metal running along his arms and legs, his throat started fizzling as pieces of skin dropped onto the floor, she could see his vocal cords coated in silver metal, rubbing up against each other as he laughed.

"Impressive, right? I don't remember the procedure very well but I'm much stronger than you, sweetheart."

"Get _off_." Zanya rasped, shoving her foot in between his legs.

Wilson wheezed and abruptly let her go, Zanya raced for the door, trying to pull the bed away just as Wilson grabbed a handful of her dyed green dreads. Zanya screamed, flailing wildly as Wilson twisted the knife into her side, dragging it up towards her armpit and laughing. He slammed her down into her bed and sat on her waist, holding her arms above her head and pulling out the knife.

"That actually hurt, I will inform Cobra Commander to remove that part in his next subjects."

"Assuming you get out of here alive," Zanya growled, thrashing around as Wilson wiped the blood off the knife.

"No, no. I've already sent the information to him, I've been recording our exchange as well. He wants to ensure all loose ends are taken care off. I will self-destruct once my mission here is complete."

Zanya gasped as Wilson raised the knife over his head. "Goodbye Zanya."

Zanya groaned, whipping her head from side to side, trying to pull her legs out from under him as he lowered the knife over her chest. A metal grate fell from the ceiling, hitting Wilson squarely on the top of his head, and Snake Eyes of all people dropped down and shoved a sword right down through his head. With the end of the sword hovered dangerously over her midriff, Snake Eyes pulled Wilson off and removed the bed from the door, allowing several other people into the room. Zanya's bracelets were removed and Snake Eyes hauled her out of the room and into the infirmary.

"Did you fucking know he was a metal man?" Zanya hissed, completely aware she was leaving a messy trail of blood behind them.

Snake Eye nodded.

"I was bait. You _used_ me as fucking _bait_?"

Snake Eyes nodded again, dropping her onto a medical bed as a doctor started cutting open her shirt.

"I'll fucking gouge your eyes out!" Zanya growled, crying out as several men held her down on the bed.

A mask was pulled down over her face as the first burst of anesthesia hit her. She tried focusing on Snake Eyes as her limbs went slack, she felt the hands over her body disappear and then she closed her eyes.

* * *

Zanya woke up in the infirmary on her uninjured side, she wasn't strapped down or anything but her side was still tingling and the amount of bandages wrapped around her made her feel more like a mummy than a patient. The doctor with bouncy brown curls was standing at the foot of her bed with Scarlet beside her, both looking at Zanya with neutral expressions. The doctor smiled though.

"G'morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Oh fuck you, Doc Brown."

Doc giggled and placed a hand on her hip. "Oh, nice one. Points for originality, sugar."

Scarlet rolled her eyes and looked towards the doors, stepping back as a rather official looking man stepped into the room.

"How's our patient, Doc?" he asked, giving Zanya a quick once over.

"Right as rain, General. A little snappy though."

"Good to hear. I'm General Hawk, Zanya."

"Congratulations, I don't care." Zanya growled, shuffling awkwardly as a breeze tickled her bare back.

"I thought you'd like to know that thanks to you, we've managed to track down Cobra Commander. We're mobilizing a group to go after him as we speak, so the UN is willing to leave you in our care."

"…what?"

Zanya raised an eyebrow and looked between all three people within the room. She tried sitting up only for her side to start aching, settling for propping her head on her arm.

"Sure, maybe you didn't know about Wilson but because you've made yourself a loose end for Cobra, he's naturally interesting in taking you out. Good thing we're well equipped to take him out."

"What do you want, birdbrain?"

"Want a chance to get back at your former employer?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Red. Wedding**

Scarlet's wedding took place on the private island of Niihau, Hawaii. General Hawk had often travelled to the island for private hunting excursions and was granted access to one of the beaches for the wedding ceremony by the isle's owners, the Robinson's. It was a very small group that attended: the Alpha Team, Roadblock's team (Roadblock's daughters were the flower girls), Jinx and Erebus, General Hawk and his family, along with Fenris. The chaplain and most of the bridal party had already assembled in a temporarily constructed gazebo on the white shoreline, clear blue water beat against the sand in lazy strokes.

The locals of the island weren't in attendance nor the Robinson's themselves; Niihau was largely a rural island with not many amenities or phone service, roughly 130 people inhabited the island and most were farmers. The Joes didn't want to attract too much attention from tour groups or helicopters that might pass by.

Ripcord was leaning against the one of the posts, yanking off his tie and twisting it around in his hands. Duke heaved a sigh and grabbed the tie, shoving it deep into his pocket and pulling him into a straighter position. Duke glanced down the isle at the small group moving around Scarlet, catching Fenris's eye as she gave him the thumbs up. Duke grinned and nodded, giving Doc a whistle as she signalled the small group of violinists.

Scarlet wore a pearl white, sleeveless A-line gown with a sheer overlay of red glitter and embroidered rose petals. No train, and the veil stopped short of her shoulders. Sedna had braided Scarlet's hair into a long braid, pinning it on top of her head with a few loose strands hanging on either side of her face.

Roadblock's daughters skipped down the aisle first, tossing rose petals into the wind and upon reaching the end, they raced to their father's side and whipped around to stare at the rest of the procession. Sedna glided down to the sand in a long white skirt with knee-high slits on both sides, a lilac blouse, and her long brown hair blew free save for a white hibiscus threaded behind her ear.

Snake Eyes, in full ninja attire, waited for the music cue as Fenris tweaked the tiara pinned on top of Scarlet's head, adorned with pebble-sized sapphires, for the last time. General Hawk stepped in beside Scarlet and held his arm out which she quickly took, breathing out slowly as Fenris moved beside Snake Eyes, trying not to flinch as he slipped his hand into hers.

"Everything is perfect, Scarlet." Fenris said, blushing. "You're gorgeous, really."

"As long as I don't start crying," she mumbled, squaring her shoulders and raising her head high.

 _"_ _And if you do, they'll be happy tears."_

Fenris nodded encouragingly, facing forward and walking in tandem with Snake Eyes. For a few moments, Fenris was aware that the body language she was putting out totally confirmed what everyone else was already thinking – that the two of them were finally a couple. Jinx and Erebus both had varying expressions of smug satisfaction, the former actually a surprise to Fenris considering she always assumed Jinx had something for Snake Eyes.

Fenris wore a straight midnight blue dress that hid the scars on her legs, it had at least one sleeve to hid the nasty wound on her shoulder, and she managed to get away with not wearing shoes. Snake Eyes squeezed her hand and subtly tilted his head back, the two of them took their places and Fenris bit her lip to stop smiling.

There was Scarlet, dabbing futilely at her eyes as she and General Hawk drifted into the sunlight, out from under the canopy. Ripcord's face broke into the widest grin possible as Scarlet glided towards him. He apparently couldn't see the tears on her face as she laughed at his expression. The tempo of the music slowed as she climbed into the gazebo, General Hawk moved down and Scarlet removed the veil, taking Ripcord's hands in her own and giggling.

"Think you're ready for this, Fly Boy?"

"Baby, I've been ready for a _while_ now."

The guests laughed and the chaplain cleared her throat loudly.

"Then let's get started before he wants a test drive, shall we? Dearly beloved…"

* * *

"Is it bad I half expected that scene from _Princess Bride_ to go down? Because that would've been _great_."

"Rip, are you drunk?"

"Nah, man, I'm sober. Just…just picture it...And! And! Instead of the six-fingered man, we've got the one-armed man!"

Erebus groaned, sagging into his seat and hiding his face in his hands. Duke cupped a hand over his mouth and shut his eyes, his body already shaking with laughter as Ripcord downed a shot of _something_ …probably hot sake. Scarlet was leaning on his shoulder nursing a headache from all the stress, and despite her closed eyes, her smile meant she was still very much awake.

"My name is Erebus Rex, you stole my arm, prepare to die!" Ripcord declared, reaching across the aisle and poking Erebus's arm.

"Rip…my name isn't "Rex", and someone needs to…say that to me." Erebus corrected, instantly regretting this as Ripcord craned his neck back and peered blearily at the rest of the occupants on the jet. He jerked a finger at Fenris as she stealthily attempted sleep on Snake Eyes's shoulder, bolting upwards with a yelp as Ripcord cheered.

"There! My name is Fenris of Asgard, you killed my father, prepare to die!"

"Uh…well, most of that is right." Fenris admitted, relaxing.

"My name is Fenris of Asgard, you killed my father, prepare to die!"

"Somebody knock him out before I do," Erebus growled. "Scarlet, please."

"Scarlet is sleeping, don't bother her." Sedna admonished, passing him a pair or earplugs.

"Like hell she is. I'm like Santa Claus: I see you when you're sleeping and she is _not_ sleeping."

Fenris snorted, hiding her face in Snake Eyes's shoulder as Ripcord once again leaned across the aisle and declared he was Fenris of Asgard, Erebus killed his father, and he should prepare to die. Erebus groaned and smashed a pillow over his face, curling up and giving Ripcord his back and Sedna placed her ear plugs into her ears and reclined, wrapping herself in a blanket and waving goodnight.

Duke and Heavy Duty were up front piloting, listening to the commotion in the back as they flew back to base, hoping to sober up Ripcord before the raid on Cobra. Upon his fifth declaration, Doc meandered over to his seat and gently administered a sedative, returning to her own seat as Erebus shot her a grateful look.

"There's Doc's wedding gift for you, Scar, you'll need'em."

"This is a one-time thing; he won't be this drunk again."

"Not if Snake Eyes has anything to say about it," Erebus whispered, loud enough for the ninja to hear. Scarlet smiled and nodded in agreement, only for Erebus to shoot up and point at her.

"Aha! You _aren't_ sleeping!"

* * *

Fenris and Snake Eyes, after a long flight home, washed up and ate before suiting up and boarding another plane – only this time Snake Eyes whipped out a katana and nearly cut down Erebus. Fenris lurched forward and grabbed the ninja around his waist as Erebus held his sole hand up in defense, angling his body in front of the much smaller person behind him. Snake Eyes lowered his weapon as Erebus eased into a seat, pulling a grumpy-looking Zanya down into the seat next to him. Her wrists were bound with coarse rope, she could get out at any time, and she had a few weapons strapped into her belt.

"Hawk's orders," Erebus said. "She's coming with us."

"I foresee issues with this arrangement." Fenris mumbled, guiding Snake Eyes to the window seat so she could separate the two of them.

"I don't like it either, OK? But it means I don't have to go see the UN, I'm stuck with your lot for life."

Fenris looked over at Erebus and he shrugged, idly drumming his fingers along the armrest. She knew for a fact that the scars on his face were likely Zanya's work, and the fact that the two of them were sitting next to each other without killing each other meant some other deal was struck. Fenris didn't like thinking about but for all intents and purposes, her issues had been with Zandar and Zarana and they were both dead. Storm Shadow and Jinx would likely have similar reactions to Snake Eyes when they found out, but Fenris hoped all parties would focus on the bigger picture, she certainly was trying.

Snake Eyes shook his head and pulled one of Fenris's hands into his lap, turning it face up and moving his finger along her palm.

 _"_ _Are you OK with this?"_

"Fine," she answered quietly. "Erebus can handle her. Has Hawk done this before?"

 _"_ _Take in criminals? No. Sedna might have been in that bracket but she didn't go on a murdering spree."_

Snake Eyes sighed audibly, squeezing her hand and angling his body so Zanya never left his sight. Erebus was leaning against the window, also watching Zanya but his expression was far less hostile than the entire aura Snake Eyes was putting off. Zanya was a variable no one was counting on, sure it might surprise Cobra but nothing said she wouldn't turn on them either. Fenris sighed. She looked over at Snake Eyes and waited until he turned his attention to her.

"Erebus, switch seats with me." Fenris rose up and backed up towards Zanya's seat, cocking her head back towards Erebus who rose an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

"I need you and Snake to be on you're A-game, I'll watch her."

"I'm right here, thanks, and I'm not a child."

"You're younger than everyone else on this plane, so yes, you kind of are." Fenris replied.

Erebus shrugged and moved to take Fenris's former seat and Snake Eyes shook his head, turning his view outside as Fenris sat down and reclined her seat back, watching Zanya unblinkingly.

"Oh what?" The younger girl snapped. "You fishing for an apology or something?"

"Nope." Fenris answered, extra emphasis on the "P" sound. "I had a feeling things would've worked out differently Cobra wasn't involved. You seemed awfully bored the entire time."

Zanya narrowed her eyes, slipping her wrists out of the knots and crossing her arms over her chest. Fenris grinned and turned onto her side, feeling a tad more superior as Zanya huffed and turned her face away.

"I mean, I thought you'd pit us all against each other, gladiator-style."

"I was seriously considering it." Zanya growled, shutting her eyes.

"Why didn't you do it then?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Zanya snarled.

"No."

"Then piss off."

* * *

 **Hello again.**

 **One more chapter after this and then an epilogue because I'm eager to finish this story given all the other projects I've started. Thanks to those of you still reading.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Frozen**

At one point in the distant past, she had a name and the trappings of a normal woman who loved a dangerous man. Their physical relationship was really all that held them together in the beginning but when she conceived a child in the Outback on the dusty floor among a troop of people she'd never seen before, she felt _something_. Her lover had doctors and a legacy behind him, providing all the care she and their child would ever need. He transformed their daughter into a formidable warrior, and she made her daughter a formidable woman. And for a while, everything was good. Thought he left often, Zartan always came home appreciative of the job his wife had done in his absence. And though she knew what he did, she was never really concerned with the consequence because he was that _good_.

But then he stopped calling. And then he died. And then dear sweet Zanya took it upon herself to right the wrongs. And was mother happy? No, but she understood the drive her daughter felt, the need to avenge the death of her father.

At one point in the distant past, she would have understood all those intimate feelings, making the scene before her almost ironic. Two deaths might be avenged today: Zartan's and her own, yet would the avenger feel satisfied?

* * *

Zanya had Erebus on her ass the entire run down the hallway, spotting something escaping into another door within the labyrinthine base. It was black with a sheen of metal covering its face, Zanya had no doubt it was Cobra but as she tackled the figure to the ground, she realized her error almost instantly.

"…Mom?" Zanya frowned, doubling over as her mother rammed a fist into her stomach.

Zanya flew backwards into Erebus who looked between the two women with an expression caught between pity and exasperation; Zanya righted herself as her own mother pulled the spear hanging off her back and levelled it in front of her. A loud screeching echoed over their heads and Cobra's raspy voice laughed.

 _"_ _So sorry I couldn't share in this reunion, Zanya, but I've other matters to attend to. Maryse, give your daughter my regards."_

The audio cut off and Zanya jumped backwards, the tip of the spear cutting down her face from forehead to tip of her nose. Maryse pulled off her helmet and tossed it aside, charging towards her daughter with dull red eyes, not really seeing what lay before her. Erebus yanked Zanya out of the way, catching the spear and breaking it in half with his hand, kicking her backwards and drawing a sword in defense. Zanya hissed, pulling a dagger from her side and lunging forward, trying to dislodge the remaining staff piece from her mother's hands.

"Give me a break here," she griped, twisting out of the way. "You shouldn't even be here right now!"

"I don't think –" Erebus began, cursing as Zanya chucked the knife backwards at him, wrestling her mother to the ground.

"Shut up! She wouldn't let him do this to her!"

Maryse pulled her daughter over her head and slammed her down into the ground. Erebus winced, pulling the dagger from the wall and giving it a brief look before he threw it into Maryse's shoulder. Maryse did not respond, pausing in her assault to stare blankly at him as she withdrew the knife, snapping it in half.

"Is that something she _normally_ would do?"

"Shut up!" Zanya shrieked, recovering and throwing herself at Maryse. "Don't fuck with me, you would never…You wouldn't be so stupid!"

Zanya threw a punch into Maryse's face but it lacked power, sliding off the metal plating hidden under her skin. Maryse grabbed Zanya's other hand, twisting it around until it broke. Zanya screamed, pulling herself up and planting both of her feet against her mother's chest. They separated, briefly, because Zanya lunged again, tackling the taller woman to the ground and sitting on her chest. She thrust the other knife under the woman's blank face, panting and shuddering as Maryse's eyes glowed brightly, triggering the skin on her body to start dissolving.

Zanya watched, frozen in place as the skin slipped off her mother's face in fatty wet droplets, burnt plastic and skin irritating her nose. Maryse put her hands around Zanya's neck, leaving a nasty burn as Erebus hunkered down and hacked at her metal legs. Zanya was tossed quite easily into a wall, Maryse flipped onto her feet and took a swipe at Erebus. He dropped to the ground, placing his hands on the floor and sending his feet into her face. As Maryse rolled backwards, Zanya got up and jumped back onto her, wrapping an arm around her neck as the other fiddled with a rod at her side.

"You couldn't be so stupid to actually allow him to do this to you…There's no way in hell!" Zanya grabbed the rod and stabbed it into her mother's ear, clicking a button on the side that unleashed a coiling current of electricity that flickered into Maryse's brain. Zanya leapt backwards as Maryse convulsed, vainly grasping at the weapon as her circuits fizzled and her distorted vocal cords vibrated a high-pitched noise. Zanya covered her ears, falling backwards as Maryse turned and reached for her, red eyes dimming slightly.

 ** _"_** ** _SORRY."_**

Erebus cursed and grabbed Zanya's shoulder, pulling her onto her feet as Maryse shuddered, her metallic face slowly burning red until it popped. Burnt metal shot into the walls and what fleshy matter remained burst and splashed across the floor into small piles. Erebus forced his one hand over Zanya's eyes as he pulled her backwards, checking over his shoulder for enemies as Zanya sagged against his chest.

Through the small gaps in his fingers, Zanya saw the body on the ground with melting shoulders and neck dripping with brackish blood. Bits of flame with wisps of smoke tickled the air and set the sprinklers off. She removed his hand and started walking down the hall; she still saw Cobra go this way and she was still going to kill him.

* * *

Fenris fell hard into a wall, yelping as someone crashed into her back, their skull bashing against her own. The body felt familiar enough so she didn't react, only reaching for the gun at their hip and firing blindly behind them. Someone had kindly reopened the large scar across her face, dried blood left tracks down her cheeks, and there was a bruise developing under her right eye. Along with most of her anyway, she wasn't feeling much of the pain yet but she knew it would come either way.

The person removed themselves from her back and she turned around; Snake Eyes took the gun back and signed an apology, firing it himself until he ran out of rounds. Fenris turned her attention to the other side of the hallway and a shadow that stretched around the corner, she took off after it after calling for Snake Eyes to follow when he was ready. Even as she chased after the figure, Snake Eyes was already by her side; the two of them followed the corridor as far as it would go until it opened into a wide chamber filling with water.

"That wasn't, like, an illusion, was it?"

Snake Eyes shook his head, scanning the pool as footsteps echoed from another hallway – Erebus and Zanya skidded to a stop before the pool, and then Duke nearly toppled into the water himself. He gazed around the room and raised an eyebrow.

"Following a shadow?"

"Yeah, the others?" Fenris called back, kneeling and peering into the cold depths.

"Cleared the lower levels as best they could, we're starting to sink. Sedna and the others have checked the upper levels, no sign of Cobra."

"Think he bailed?" Erebus poked the water as Zanya sat down and sighed, running her hands over her face and smearing blood in the process.

"No way, he's here alright." Duke grumbled. "Anyone want to take a dive?"

 _"_ _Bad idea, the water's too cold. He must be cloaking himself."_

"And walking on the water?" Fenris smirked, but then stared at a patch of ice floating a few feet away.

Snake Eyes followed her gaze and nodded, and as he moved, Zanya fucking _leapt_. She crashed into a solid piece of air, wrapping her legs and arms around it. Duke jumped on after her, wrestling the invisible mass and sending all three of them crashing into the water. Duke lost his grip as Zanya forced herself into the water, ripping a large piece of cloth from the water and pushing with all her might down on Cobra's visible head. Duke pulled himself onto the landing and then the lot of them grabbed at Zanya and Cobra, dragging them out of the water and restraining them.

But Erebus's hand slipped.

Zanya grabbed a jagged knife from his belt and buried it deep inside Cobra's chest, yanking it up his ribcage as she tore his mask off. She took a hand off the dagger and plunged her fingers deep into one of his eyes sockets, Cobra let out an unnatural scream that made Duke's blood run cold. Zanya dug the green iris out of his skull, smashing it into the ground and then starting on the next one, his screaming turning to desperate gasping as the knife clipped one of his lungs. The last eye Zanya stared at, letting go of the knife completely as she ripped the breathing mask off his face, jamming the eyeball down his throat and moving his jaw up and down, the white paste sticking to the corners of his mouth.

There was no sound except Zanya's snarls and Cobra's last dying gasps, then Duke pulled out a gun and fired it once into his head. Zanya whipped around like a wild cat, bloody nails going right for his face. Fenris looped the chain of Gleipnir around her, pinning her arms as he wrapped herself around the younger girl.

"It's over Zanya, we got him. Quiet now."

"Fuck you…"

"You did it, now you need to calm down. We have to go."

* * *

Fenris expected fanfare, pomp and circumstance, champagne bottles popping with foam – _something_. Cobra's body was scooped up by forensics, Zanya was taken to quarantine, and everyone else took separate rounds into the infirmary for general checkups and lengthier stays. It felt _rehearsed_ , and in a way Fenris could understand the thought because the endgame was always going to be Cobra going down. Everyone must've felt similar. There was a strange stillness in the air, any other sound seemed like a massive annoyance.

Snake Eyes wasn't twitching per say but Fenris saw him clenching his fingers. Duke was lying flat on his back with his knees up, Scarlet was sharing my examination bed, leaning up against Fenris's knees as she sat against the headboard. Time passed, people came and went, at one point the General walked in and congratulated the team.

"Now what?" Fenris asked once he left, swinging her head over towards Snake Eyes as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "Vacation?"

 _"_ _Do you have a place in mind?"_

"I was wondering if it might be possible to reclaim my brother's old place, it's nice and remote and I'm sure it could replace your old dojo."

 _"…_ _you've given this some thought."_

"Maybe a bit," Fenris giggled and looked around at everyone else. "You're all invited, of course."

Duke held up a thumbs up, Scarlet and Ripcord both hummed, Sedna and Erebus both kind of nodded, and Snake Eyes also sat on the bed. Fenris bit her lips to stop smiling, and Erebus rolled his eyes. He crawled in behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach as Scarlet started cooing. Duke started whistling and made an exaggerated gesture of looing away, Sedna looked torn between staring intently and leaving the room. Erebus picked himself off the wall and found a bed on the far side of the infirmary, pulling the curtains around the bed and sighing deeply.

"Don't be such a child, Erebus." Fenris giggled.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

* * *

Zanya lay on her bed in quarantine _shaking_.

Zartan was dead.

Zandar and Zarana were dead.

And her mother Maryse was dead.

Cobra meant little in the grand scheme of things.

She been avoiding thinking about all the events of the last few months, how everything she'd planned gone wrong, and how everyone she was close with had died. Zartan had been a blow just because of how Erebus used her own information. Her relationships with her aunt and uncle had not been close but the pain of their passing wasn't that bad. But her mother. Her own mother? Her mother had been a large part of her life, taught her so much; Zanya could not think of any reason why her mother would ever, _ever_ let Cobra do anything to her.

Was it loneliness?

Maryse was always a kind of lonely woman, she never needed a lot of Zartan to survive and the remoteness of Australia never seemed to bother her.

So what was it?

Maybe Zanya would never know, and as the door opened with several suited men pouring into the room, she didn't care all that much.

* * *

The cabin was a little bit different this time around, it'd been scrubbed down and most of the furniture had been removed. It felt…strange. As Fenris moved into the living, her feet guided her back into the art studio where all of the paintings and all of the art supplies had been removed. Snake Eyes hovered in the doorframe behind her, watching her examine the room for anything else out of place. Fenris inhaled deeply and shook her head, backing out of the room and grabbing Snake Eyes hand.

"I'm good, I'm good." She whispered quickly.

 _"_ _I know."_

Fenris knew she needed to head upstairs before doing anything else, closing that chapter for once and for all. Snake Eyes walked with her, the two of them pausing at Fenris's old room. The mural had been painted over, probably when her mother briefly looked after the house before abandoning it. Fenris released her grip on Snake Eyes, shuffling into the room and placing a hand on the cold wall.

"I'm not sleeping in here; this can be a guest room or something."

Snake Eyes nodded. Fenris left the room, going right into her brother's room and sighing. It barren, cold, and all the familiar scents were gone. It looked alien, the walls painted navy blue.

"I can do this, I think. Furniture might be difficult to come by though."

Snake Eyes signed something, Fenris turned and asked him to repeat it.

 _"_ _Wedding presents then."_

He reached back into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Fenris put a hand over her mouth, already putting herself in Snake Eyes arms as he popped the box open. It was a simple silver band with a tiny green gem.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

 _"_ _So is that a yes?"_

"Yes. Yes, you complete dork."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Epilogue – Of Chameleons and Wolves**

Vali tiptoed into the kitchen just as the sun peaked over the horizon. The living room was flooded with golden sunlight, and he peered at his uncle passed out on the floor with his one arm draped dramatically over his eyes. It puzzled him how the older man cold sleep when the sun was growing so bright, but then again Uncle Erebus could sleep through most things. Also on the floor wrapped in a thick blanket was Hel, Vali's adopted sister. Her bright green eyes blinked blearily at him and she waved a very nonchalant arm at him. Vali smiled shyly, waving back even though he was more than sure she couldn't see him properly. He continued towards the front door, pulling on a pair of his father's boots and sliding outside. A rush of cold air splashed him squarely in the face so he ducked back inside for an oversized sweater, pulling the hood over his face.

Once out in the snow, he followed two sets of footprints until his hazel eyes found the figures of his mother and father practising in the glen; snow-tipped evergreens surrounded their training arena and displaced the cool wind. He shuffled closer and leaned against a tree, peeking out from behind it as his father latched on his mother's arm and yanked her towards him, the two of them toppling over in a fit of giggles.

Fenris squealed as Snake Eyes drummed his fingers along her sides, burrowing his face into her neck as she twitched and fought back, mostly in vain. Vali put a hand over his mouth as he watched, trying to hide the smile on his face as Fenris finally broke away and shoved a handful of snow into Snake Eyes's face. She took off towards the tree Vali hid behind, tripping over a root and looking up at him in surprise. Vali giggled and then frowned as Fenris tugged at his huge sweater. Snake Eyes jogged over and scooped Vali into his arms, holding a hand out for Fenris.

"Are those Daddy's boots, Val?" Fenris asked.

"Yes, Momma."

"And my sweater?"

"Yes, Momma," Vali blushed, shivering as Snake Eyes pressed a kiss into his temple.

"It's too cold out here for you, didn't your sister dress you?"

Vali shoo his head as Fenris and Snake Eyes made their way back to the house and opened the door. Erebus was in the kitchen cooking up a storm as Hel lay on the couch, Vali was surprised she'd moved at all. He shook his head at their question, allowing Snake Eyes to pull off the boots and sweater.

"You and Daddy do it all the time," Vali griped. "And Uncle Erebus too. You said I was a big boy now, so I can do it too."

Fenris rolled her eyes and took Vali from Snake Eyes, pulling the blanket off Hel and wrapping him up in it, placing him in an armchair by the fireplace Erebus must've lit.

"Vali, you're eight." Fenris reasoned, laughing a little and prodding Hel with her foot. "And it's still too cold for you. Daddy and Uncle Erebus have been doing this for a long time, and I've only just gotten into it myself. We can train you in other ways, not in snow fighting."

"…can we still build a snowman in the front yard?"

"Yes, wake your sister and I'm sure she'd love to."

"I'm not going out there, Fen." Hel muttered, flicking her green dreads over her shoulder as she sat up. "You know the cold makes me sleepy, do I look like a frost giant, if we're still using that motif?"

"You have to adapt to your surroundings." Fenris said.

Hel laughed bitterly. "Erebus, back me up here."

"Nope, you're on your own, Z."

Vali cocked his head to one side, sliding off the loveseat and crawling onto the couch with Hel, poking her leg.

"Is it Zygarde?"

Fenris nearly choked, leaning against Snake Eyes as Hel raised an eyebrow.

"…what the fuck's a Zygarde?"

"Hel!"

"Sorry, sorry…What's the _heck's_ a Zygarde?"

"It's a Pokémon, Momma has three of them."

Hel was about to ask what a "Pokémon" was when Fenris shook her head.

"Sorry, honey, try again tomorrow."

"It really isn't Rumpelstiltskin, is it?" Vali wondered, taking Hel's hand and following her to the table.

"Who told you that?" she responded, staring pointedly at Erebus who bit his lip and barely hid a chuckle.

Vali pointed at his uncle, yelping as the taller man flicked a drop of water onto his nose. Fenris sighed, bringing a hand behind Vali's chair and pushing it closer to the table. Snake Eyes sat on her other side, Hel sat beside Vali, and Erebus beside her.

"I didn't believe him though, it's an ugly name." Vali said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Careful, Rumpelstiltskin is a troll, he can probably hear you." Erebus taunted.

Vali frowned.

"Then I'll just eat him."

Vali's frown deepened as everyone around the table either made funny faces or laughed.

* * *

 **And we're finished!**

 **Huge thanks to my reviews MustangLover97, the various guests, and Ienabui98.**

 **And GreenBlack1991, JoyfullyDrowning, Pop-Ey33, Silvyia, Aerith the Eventstar, and Morgaine le Fatal.**

 **I hope, even though this was shorter than CASUALTIES, this story was interesting and you enjoyed it. I've got a poll set up on my profile to help me decide which project I want to start next so if anyone wants to go and check that out, I'd appreciate it a lot.**

 **See you!**


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